Britain's leading share index backed further away from 4-1/2 year highs on Tuesday, led down by miners whose losses were intensified by disappointing news from U.S. peers, while Marks & Spencer fell after a trading update. Antofagasta , Xstrata and Anglo American fell 3 to 5 percent after U.S. copper giant Phelps Dodge cut its fourth quarter profit forecast and aluminium firm Alcoa reported lower profits. Precious metals firm Johnson Matthey closed down 3.6 percent as dealers reported Goldman Sachs placed some 5.6 million of its shares. Market watchers said Phelps's problems relating to copper price hedging and output shortfalls were specific to the company but latched onto by investors as a reason to ditch miners after a spectacular rally in 2005, fuelled by booming commodity prices. The FTSE 100 index finished 42.7 points or 0.8 percent lower on Tuesday at 5,688.8, back from Monday's peak of 5,750.3 its highest reading since June 2001. Miners played a big part in helping the index to close 2005 with a 16 percent gain. "There had to be a catalyst some time for a bit of profit taking, we'd been making high after high on the broad index," said Alex Scott analyst at private client money manager Seven Investment Management. "Miners have been important players in that so I don't think you have to be concerned about a major turning point taking place here. It looks like a pullback in what's broadly a reasonably healthy market," he added. Marks & Spencer, Britain's biggest clothing retailer closed down 1.9 percent as investors took a trading update telling of a stronger than expected performance in food as a sign to take profits after a near-50-percent gain in the shares since September. Sales in the 13 weeks to Dec. 31 comfortably beat analysts' top estimates but Chief Executive Stuart Rose warned that the retail environment in Britain remained challenging, pointing to rising utility and rent bills. "Marks & Spencer gave a good update but they did warn that this year is going to be difficult for the retailers again," said a trader. M&S EFFECT The M&S statement may have punctured its share price but other firms were encouraged by the update, including ready meals and pizza maker Northern Foods , up 5.3 percent. M&S is the midcap company's biggest customer. Grocery chains Tesco and Sainsbury gained modestly. Sainsbury is due to issue a trading statement on Thursday, Tesco updates investors next week. UK banks fell after investment bank Lehman painted a bearish picture for the sector, arguing it looked set to underperform European peers. Dealers reported that Citigroup said the sector would undershoot the UK equity market. Barclays and HSBC both lost more than 1 percent. "They (Citigroup) basically bashed the ones with high exposure to the mortgage sector -- like Barclays and Northern Rock ," said a dealer. Mergers and acquisitions speculation, which played a big part in fuelling the FTSE 100's 2005 rally flickered to life with utility Scottish & Southern up 0.8 percent on talk Swedish power supplier Vattenfall might bid. Sector rivals Scottish Power and United Utilities also traded higher. Vattenfall declined to comment. Publisher Pearson and peer Reed Elsevier both fell 2.4 percent after fellow textbook publisher McGraw-Hill indicated a toughening market in 2006. "McGraw Hill are more bearish on the education market than Pearson and Reed, and McGraw Hill are also citing margin pressure," said a dealer. British Airways was another weak point, off 2.7 percent as it revealed plans to compete with the low-cost sector by relaunching its CitiExpress regional subsidiary. "They are cutting UK regional fares. I would imagine that is not going to be helping the bottom line," one trader said. Among mid-cap movers, Abbot Group jumped 5.7 percent after the oil-rig builder said its 2005 results would be in line with forecasts and announced $275 million in new contracts.
