Property companies are among the worst performers after yesterday's news that New Star Asset management had written nearly £150m off the value of its £1.7bn commercial property fund.
The news sent the whole sector lower, with British Land down 39.5p at 933.5p and Land Securities losing 22p to £15.21.
Overall the market drifted lower ahead of the US rate decision and the keenly awaited FTSE 100 changes. By the close the leading index was down 28.5 points at 6536.9.
One company certain for relegation is battered bank Northern Rock, down another 4.6% to 104.4p on fears it might be nationalised rather than taken over by one of the remaining bidders.
Elsewhere, Royal Bank of Scotland fell 16.75p to 473.25p after a sell note and 450p price target from Citigroup. Goldman Sachs did the damage at Scottish & Southern Energy, down 10p to £16.20. The bank added SSE to its so-called conviction sell list, saying:
"In our view, SSE's shares are among the most expensive in the sector. They trade at a premium to the valuation we would attribute in a potential [takeover] scenario. Given this premium valuation, project delays to some of SSE's growth plans and more attractive newsflow elsewhere in the sector, we believe that SSE's shares will continue to underperform."
