Britain's top share index retreated on Friday, with Tate & Lyle the top faller, as investors consolidated gains from a rally led by the U.S. Federal Reserve's move to delay cuts to economic stimulus.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index edged lower by 0.3 percent, or 18.17 points, to 6,607.22 points in early session trading.
Food group Tate & Lyle was the worst-performing FTSE 100 stock, falling 2.7 percent in a move which traders attributed to Credit Suisse's decision to cut its rating on the stock to "neutral" from "outperform".
Traders were also looking to cash in their chips after this week's rally on global equity markets which was led by the Fed's decision to hold off on scaling back the wash of money it is pumping into global capital markets.
The programme has hit returns on bonds and driven investors over to the better returns on offer from stock markets, with the FTSE 100 up 12 percent since the start of 2013.
However, Psigma Investment Management's Tim Gregory said that the Fed would still eventually start to rein in its bond-buying programme as well as the underlying doubt over economic recovery that underpinned its decision.
"When the dust settles on the outcome of the Fed meeting, perhaps investors will not feel quite so exuberant about equity markets," said Gregory, who heads Psigma Investment Management's global equities team.
EGR Broking managing director Kyri Kangellaris also backed selling out for a profit on the UK stock market and also recommended buying "put" options on the FTSE 100 due to expire in 3-months time to protect against any further market retreat.
A 'put' option gives the owner the right to sell a specific amount of an asset at a set price within a set time, and generally means the investor expects that asset will go down in price.
Others were more positive.
U.S. bank Citigroup kept an "overweight" recommendation on UK equities, while JN Financial trader Ed Smyth said the broader backdrop of central bank support for the global economy remained a positive one.
"When the Fed stops tapering, I stop buying. Until they do that, I'll continue to add to equity positions," said Smyth.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index edged lower by 0.3 percent, or 18.17 points, to 6,607.22 points in early session trading.
Food group Tate & Lyle was the worst-performing FTSE 100 stock, falling 2.7 percent in a move which traders attributed to Credit Suisse's decision to cut its rating on the stock to "neutral" from "outperform".
Traders were also looking to cash in their chips after this week's rally on global equity markets which was led by the Fed's decision to hold off on scaling back the wash of money it is pumping into global capital markets.
The programme has hit returns on bonds and driven investors over to the better returns on offer from stock markets, with the FTSE 100 up 12 percent since the start of 2013.
However, Psigma Investment Management's Tim Gregory said that the Fed would still eventually start to rein in its bond-buying programme as well as the underlying doubt over economic recovery that underpinned its decision.
"When the dust settles on the outcome of the Fed meeting, perhaps investors will not feel quite so exuberant about equity markets," said Gregory, who heads Psigma Investment Management's global equities team.
EGR Broking managing director Kyri Kangellaris also backed selling out for a profit on the UK stock market and also recommended buying "put" options on the FTSE 100 due to expire in 3-months time to protect against any further market retreat.
A 'put' option gives the owner the right to sell a specific amount of an asset at a set price within a set time, and generally means the investor expects that asset will go down in price.
Others were more positive.
U.S. bank Citigroup kept an "overweight" recommendation on UK equities, while JN Financial trader Ed Smyth said the broader backdrop of central bank support for the global economy remained a positive one.
"When the Fed stops tapering, I stop buying. Until they do that, I'll continue to add to equity positions," said Smyth.
