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The FTSE 100 finished on a weaker note Thursday as it emerged that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an investigation into bribery claims at mining giant Glencore.
At 16:30, the FTSE 100 was down 0.7%, 50.65 points lower, to trade at 7,137.85.
Shares in mining giant Glencore slumped 9% to 216.8p following news that Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an investigation over suspicions of bribery.
The company is already under investigation from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the US.
DS Smith, the packaging company, was one of the biggest fallers, down 7% to 351.9p, despite reporting record group profitability and return on sales, as sustainable packaging lifted performance in the six months to 31 October 2019.
The company saw pre-tax profit rise 31% to £213m, while revenue increased 4% to £3.1bn.
Publishing firm Daily Mail & General Trust gained 5.3% to 840p as it reported a 19% increase in underlying adjusted pre-tax profit to £145m for the 12 months to 30 September. Statutory profit fell sharply reflecting the impact of recent disposals.
Soft furnishings firm Dunelm gained 19.3% to 992.5p as it guided for full year profit to come in ahead of expectations thanks to strong sales growth around its online launch.
Victrex, a polymer solutions company, fell .08% to £23.4 as group revenue, group sales and pre-tax profits were all lower in the 12 months ended 30 September 2019.
Chief executive Jakob Sigurdsson said full-year performance was in line with expectations but that 'a deterioration during the second half in automotive, electronics and value added resellers' had offset any growth.
St. Modwen Properties climbed 0.6% to 451p after it reported strong growth in its St. Modwen Homes and industrial and logistics business units during 2019, in a trading update for the period to 30 November.
St. Modwen Homes' sales volumes increased 25% to 1,060 units, which is at the top end of its target to grow volumes by up to 25% per annum.