FTSE 100 down 0.9, FTSE 250 off 0.7
Precious metal miners lead broader declines
Heavyweights trade without dividend entitlement
Beazley upgrades 2024 combined ratio forecast, shares surge

Aug 8 Reuters London39;s FTSE 100 slipped on Wednesday, tracking global market sentiment, while investors assessed corporate updates and top players traded without entitlement to their dividend payouts.

The bluechip FTSE 100 index was down 0.9, while the midcap FTSE 250 index was off 0.7 by 0714 GMT.

The benchmark index logged its best day in more than four months on Wednesday, extending a broad recovery to a second session after a heavy selloff rattled stock markets on Monday.

Precious metal miners led declines on the index with a 2 loss, despite an uptick in gold prices. The index was weighed down by Fresnillio, which traded without entitlement to its latest dividend payout.

Many top players like AstraZeneca, BP, Natwest and Standard Chartered also traded exdividend, pushing the heavyweights over 1 lower each.

Bank shares fell 1.4 after two sessions of gains.

The index declined broadly, as most subsectors traded lower.

However, nonlife insurers gained 2.5. They were pulled up by a 10 gain in Beazley, which upgraded its combined ratio forecast for 2024 after firsthalf pretax profit nearly doubled to 728.9 million. The stock topped the FTSE 100 index.

Automobile and auto parts sector climbed 2.5, as TFI Fluid Systems gained 11 after its halfyearly results.

Meanwhile, a…