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After a reasonably steady start the FTSE 100 was down materially by midday, with a 1.2% fall to 7,461.99. This followed weak trading in the US overnight and strength in sterling, which hits the relative value of the overseas earnings which dominate the index.
Cineworld and Cineplex continued to intensify their legal battle after the latter filed a cross-appeal seeking award for alternative forms damages should Cineworld's appeal against an earlier ruling requiring it to pay C$1.24 billion in damages to Cineplex prove successful.
Cineworld said it would respond to the cross-appeal as part of the appeal process, and said it disagrees with the Cineplex's cross-appeal.
Cineworld fell 3.1% to 38.24p.
Research and data analytics group YouGov rose 2.8% to £12.64 after upgrading its outlook on performance following new business wins.
Full year results to 31 July 2022 were expected to be 'slightly ahead of the board's expectations,' the company said.
Mortgages and personal loans provider Paragon Banking fell 0.7% to 571.5p after reporting a 'strong' start to the year as lending increased by a third, led by jump in buy-to-let mortgages and commercial lending volumes in the first quarter.
Total new lending for the quarter to 31 December 2021 increased by 35.7% to £708.0 million from £521.8 million in Q1 2020/21.
Energy infrastructure company Smart Metering Systems rose 1.5% to 744.8p after lifting its guidance on profit as annual revenue grew despite a turbulance in the UK energy market.
For 2021, underlying pre-tax profit was expected to be marginally ahead of consensus.
Cell and gene therapy group Oxford Biomedica slumped 6.6% to 841p after agreeing to acquire an 80% stake in Homology Medicines' AAV business and incorporate the latter into a new business that would boost its viral vector offerings in the US.
Oxford Biomedica also said it would raise about £80 million through the placing of shares to fund the acquisition.
Outsourcing and professional services company Capita fell 1.1% to 32p after agreeing to sell Trustmarque to One Equity Partners for £111 million.