FTSE 100 down 0.1, FTSE 250 off 0.2
BT Group drops trading exdividend
UK 10year gilt yield hits lowest since April

Dec 28 Reuters The UK39;s FTSE 100 pared earlier gains and moved lower on Thursday, following a drop in heavyweight energy and precious metal mining stocks, while a drop in yields indicated diminished risk around interest rate volatility.

The bluechip FTSE 100 was down 0.1 by 943 GMT, while the FTSE 250 midcap index edged 0.2 lower.

Britain39;s benchmark 10year gilt yield briefly fell to its lowest level since April 6, as traders maintain bets that the Bank of England will cut interest rates this year.

Oil and gas shares dropped 0.5, on lower crude prices as concerns eased about shipping disruptions along the Red Sea route.

The market is likely to try the upside again… maybe in the early new year, on expectations of a recovery in fuel demand thanks to monetary easing in the United States, said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, president of NS Trading, a unit of Nissan Securities.

Among other decliners, homebuilder stocks lost 0.8, while precious metal miners slipped 0.8 as gold prices moved lower.

Industrial metal miners gained 0.1 as copper prices climbed, supported by a softer dollar on bets of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve in the upcoming year.

Automobile and parts shares rose 0.1 after claiming a sixweek high in the previous session.

Among individual stocks, BT Group shares fell 2.1, trading ex dividend.

Refractory products supplier RHI…