UK stocks were mixed on contradictory signs about the state of Britain's recovering economy.
Investec, the investment bank that is also listed in South Africa, fell 2%, or 10.7p to 499p after saying its impairments remain high, although they are starting to improve. The bank also said it sees its first half operating profit marginally higher.
The company said in a statement: "Operating conditions within the group's banking and advisory businesses remain mixed with low levels of economic activity and a difficult trading environment persisting in the first half of the financial year."
Investec's shares helped push the FTSE 100 4.3 points lower to 5,552 by 9:20a.m.
B&Q owner Kingfisher, on the other hand, beat first-half profit forecasts, pushing its shares 6p, or 2.7% higher to 224.9p.
The home improvement retailer posted a pre-tax profit of £354m in the 26 weeks to July 31, above analyst forecasts of £342m, and fuelled by cost cuts and business improvements.
"The immediate outlook for consumer spending is fragile, particularly in the UK where it is likely to remain challenging for some time," said Chief Executive Ian Cheshire in a statement. "Our continued profit growth will come from our well-established self-help initiatives."
