Xstrata (Dusseldorf: XTR.DU - news) was amongst the sharpest fallers on a weaker benchmark index after its merger with Glencore received a mixed reaction.
With two of the top ten shareholders in Xstrata saying on Tuesday that they would vote against a takeover by commodities trader, Glencore , the miner slipped 4.9pc. Glencore fell 3.8pc.
Standard Life Investments, the fourth largest investor in Xstrata, and Schroders (Berlin: PYX.BE - news) head of UK equities said the deal to buy the remaining 66pc of Xstrata for $41bn undervalued their shares.
Xstrata's decline was mirrored by the other miners, as traders lost their appetite for risk, with Randgold Resources (Xetra: A0B5ZS - news) dipping 3.6pc and Kazakhmys (Munich: A0HFWR - news) falling 2.5pc.
Traders were wary of putting their money on the table as Greek debt talks dragged on. Greek political leaders face crunch talks on Tuesday and a full package must be approved by the euro zone, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund before February 15 in order to complete legal procedures for a bond swap deal for a March 20 bond redemption.
Rupert Osborne, futures dealer at IG Index, said: "We continue to await news from Athens, and investors are switching to defensive stocks as news of a Greek deal continues to elude us. Greek workers are on strike yet again, highlighting the fact that even if politicians do hammer out an agreement, the implementation of more cuts will prove difficult to say the least."
The FTSE 100 eased 1.9 points to 5890 while the FTSE 250 (FTSE: ^FTMC - news) dropped 44 points to 11193.
Gaining ground too were defensives with drug maker Shire (Stuttgart: A0MMAG - news) rising 2.4pc.
Reheated whispers that Shire could attract a suitor helped the pharmaceutical company higher, while Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - news) upped its price target on Shire to £26 from £25.
Cairn Energy (LSE: CNE.L - news) gained 3.4pc after two brokers raised their target prices for the blue chip oil and gas explorer after adjusting for a special dividend payment and share consolidation which took effect on Monday.
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