London equities markets were lower on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 down 0.2 percent to 6,204.5 and the FTSE 250 down 0.3 percent to 11,094.6. Volume was at an active 3.5 billion shares traded on the session.
The retail sector was widely mixed. J Sainsbury was 0.6 percent higher to 427p on rumors that a group of Icelandic investors had bought a stake of nearly 3 percent in the supermarket.
On the other hand, department store Debenhams was 0.4 percent lower to 170¼p after going as low as 168¾p earlier in the session on rumors that an investor has taken advantage of low its low share price to build a stake. A volume of 40 million shares in the company changing hands on Tuesday and 33 million more shares traded on Wednesday added substance to the rumors.
Electrical retailer DSG International, meanwhile, fell 12 percent to 171p on a trading statement that disappointed.
Publishers had a good day. Reed Elsevier gained 0.4 percent to 598½p, while Pearson was up 3 percent to 824½p after it was said that private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts might be interested.
In the oil sector, Royal Dutch Shell dropped 0.2 percent to £17.11 on the low price of oil.
SABMiller added 4.7 percent for the best performance on the 100, trading at £12.26. The brewer’s fiscal third quarter figures were better than had been anticipated.