The FTSE small cap index and junior-listed AIM shares fall0.5 percent and 1.2 percent respectively, underperforming the mid-caps and the blue chips, both down 0.4 percent.
Amara Mining climbs 4.2 percent as it continues to receivefavourable broker commentary following the preliminary assessment of its YaoureGold Project in the Cote d'Ivoire.
"While Yaoure still requires a significant amount of drilling and study tosupport a construction decision, given previous operations on the concession andits proximity to infrastructure, the project offers significant appeal,"analysts at BMO Capital Markets write in a note, raising their target price anddescribing the results as a "positive" for the stock.
Tanfield drops 26 percent, the top AIM listed faller, after itsinvestment update, in which the industrial firm admits that there is a risk thatits Smith Electric Vehicles division will fail to raise the investment requiredto achieve its strategy to list on a public market.
Reuters messaging rm://alistair.smout.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net