Energy, mining stocks drag down FTSE 100

London’s FTSE 100 inched lower on Tuesday, dragged by energy and mining stocks as oil and metals prices slipped over fears of slowing demand in China, while Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW) jumped after resuming dividend payments.

The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index slipped 0.1%, with oil heavyweights BP (LON:BP) and Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) being the biggest drags on the index. [O/R]

Mining stocks including Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), Anglo American (LON:AAL), and BHP were also among the biggest laggards, falling between 0.9% and 1.1%. [MET/L]

The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index rose 0.2%.

Meanwhile, British house price growth picked up unexpectedly in February, rising to 6.9% in annual terms from 6.4% in January, mortgage lender Nationwide said.

Taylor Wimpey, Britain’s third-largest homebuilder, rose 3.4% to the top of the blue-chip index, as it said the 2021 selling season has started well ahead of possible additional incentives for the sector in the budget.

Travis Perkins (LON:TPK), Britain’s biggest seller of building materials, fell 1.8%, after it restarted the process of demerging its Wickes home improvement business.