U.K. stocks fell in choppy trade on Thursday as a slew of disappointing earnings reports overshadowed gains in miners on the back of a jump in commodity prices.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 20 points, or 0.3 percent, at 6.690 after closing 0.6 percent lower the previous day.
Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore climbed 2-3 percent as copper prices jumped to their highest in nearly a decade on concerns over a market deficit, driven by tight supply and strong demand.
Barclays Group tumbled 3.5 percent after its 2020 annual profit fell by half.
Smith & Nephew plunged 5.2 percent. The medical technology business reported that its fiscal 2020 profit before taxation declined to $246 million from last year's $743 million.
Pharmaceutical company Indivior lost 2.5 percent. The company reported a fiscal 2020 net loss of $148 million compared to net income of $134 million, prior year.
Royal Dutch Shell gave up 1.3 percent. The company said it has reached an agreement with Canadian energy company Crescent Point Energy Corp. to sell its Duvernay shale light oil position in Alberta, Canada for a total consideration of $707 million or C$900 million.
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