The UK's blue-chip FTSE 100 slipped on Wednesday, with healthcare and energy shares leading declines, as investors monitored the latest setback in U.S.-Iran talks.
The internationally focused FTSE 100 index CURRENCYCOM:UK100 closed down 0.2%, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 FTSE:MCX jumped 1.4% to a one-week high.
Iran said on Tuesday it would not meet top U.S. envoys, following an outbreak of hostilities that clouded the prospects of a peace agreement.
Healthcare shares (.FTNMX201030) dropped 1.6%, weighing on the blue-chip index, with heavyweights AstraZeneca LSE:AZN and GSK LSE:GSK down 1.7% and 2.5% respectively.
Oil and gas shares also weighed, with Shell LSE:SHEL and BP LSE:BP. dropping over 2% each on declining oil prices.
Precious metal mining shares FTSE:NMX551030 rose 3.3%, keeping losses in check.
Aerospace and defence shares (.FTNMX502010) extended gains from the prior session when Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged an extra £15 billion ($20 billion) of spending on defence. Babcock LSE:BAB, BAE Systems LSE:BA. and Rolls-Royce LSE:RR. rose between 1.1% and 5.2%.
PMI data showed that Britain's manufacturing activity cooled in June despite a boost from stockpiling ahead of price hikes and supply chain disruption worries.
Among individual movers, AB Foods LSE:ABF dropped 3.1% after the Primark owner said it expects annual profit to be below last year's.
Greggs LSE:GRG fell 3% and was the top laggard on the mid-cap index after the UK's biggest fast-food chain said its long-time CFO Richard Hutton would step down.
National Grid LSE:NG. said it would invest $1.75 billion for a 35% stake in Joulent, a U.S. energy platform developing power infrastructure for data centres. Shares were down 3%.
Both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 notched quarterly gains. The mid-cap index posted its biggest quarterly rise in five quarters, while the blue-chip index ended higher in 11 of the last 12 months.