By Kit Rees
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top shares index declined on Monday, led by sharp falls in mining companies and oil and gas stocks as investors voiced concerns about whether commodities-related assets could sustain a recent rally.
Miners have rallied since the end of January, with the sector (FTNMX1770) gaining over 60 percent, but persistent concerns about a slowdown in China, the world's biggest metals consumer, have made investors sceptical about further gains.
"There's a little bit of trepidation now as to how confident people are in emerging markets," Augustin Eden, research analyst at Accendo Markets, said.
"A lot of this rally has been built on renewed confidence in China and maybe a feeling that, fundamentally, the declines we have seen up until the end of January were potentially overdone," he added, saying investors had been taking profits.
The mining index was down 3.8 percent, set for its third daily loss in a row, with Anglo American (L:AAL), BHP Billiton (L:BLT), Rio Tinto (L:RIO), Glencore (L:GLEN) and Antofagasta (L:ANTO) dropping between 2.2 percent and 6.0 percent as the price of copper fell.
Oil companies also weighed on the index, with both BP (L:BP) and Royal Dutch Shell (L:RDSa) down more than 2 percent after the price of oil declined. [O/R]
The blue chip FTSE 100 index (FTSE) was down 0.6 percent at 6,271.63 points by 1107 GMT, putting it more than 2 percent below a year high of 6,427.32 hit last Thursday.
Tobacco-maker Imperial Brands (L:IMB) benefited from a broker upgrade from Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), which raised its rating on the stock to "buy" from "neutral", sending the shares up 3.2 percent.
Outside the blue chips, clothing retailer Ted Baker (L:TED) climbed 6.3 percent after Jefferies upgraded the stock to "buy" from "hold" partly on valuation grounds. It also cited a healthy order book, differentiated business model and continued international expansion.
