By Alistair Smout
LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 edged lower from a one-week high on Wednesday, hit by renewed weakness in Royal Mail and oil majors even after UK economic data and some company earnings beat expectations.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.2 percent at 6,727.26 points by 1159 GMT, down from a one-week high of 6,753.19 touched in early trade. The index rose 1.3 percent on Tuesday.
Top faller was Royal Mail Group, down 2 percent after regulator Ofcom said late on Tuesday that it would not overhaul rules for direct mail delivery, dashing Royal Mail's hopes of being shielded from a rival.
It extended the previous session's fall of 3 percent.
Royal Mail had said delivery services by Whistl jeopardised its own as the rival could focus on densely populated and profitable areas that were easy to serve.
"What could have been an impediment to Royal Mail's competitors has now been taken away," said Kyri Kangellaris, director at Horizon Stockbroking.
Oil stocks came under renewed pressure as the oil price remained volatile. Royal Dutch Shell fell 1.7 percent, trimming more than 9 points off the index
Brent crude fell further after European market close on Tuesday, although it recovered some of these losses to trade 0.3 percent higher on Wednesday.
Lending support to the market, computer software firm Sage rose 5.2 percent, the top gainer in the FTSE 100 index, after saying it was on track to accelerate growth in 2015 after posting revenue and earnings slightly ahead of expectations.
"Over 80 percent of their users have renewed their contracts, which is a bonus and keeps a steady flow on the income side of things," IG market analyst Alastair McCaig said.
A better than expected survey of activity in Britain's vast services sector also supported the market.
It was likely to be welcomed by chancellor George Osborne, who will give a half-yearly update on official growth and borrowing forecasts on Wednesday, his penultimate such statement before May's national election.
(Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Catherine Evans)