Leading shares fell in early morning trade on Thursday following a downbeat economic assessment by US Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and persistent worries about European banking "stress tests".
London's FTSE 100 index slipped 0.44 percent to 5,191.51 points.
Traders took their cue from Wall Street's 1.07 percent fall following the Federal Reserve chairman's bearish presentation to Congress on Wednesday.
Bernanke said the outlook remained "unusually uncertain" while stopping well short of saying action to stimulate the economy was imminent.
Copyright 2010  AFP European Edition
