Jan 7 (Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 index edged lower on Wednesday after a run of record highs, as investors assessed U.S.-Venezuela developments and flocked to defensive utilities and real estate
FTSE 100 Falls from Highs Amid Energy, Financial Declines
Jan 7 (Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 closed lower on Wednesday, stalling after a recent run of record highs as losses in energy and financial stocks weighed, while focus was on any developments in the U.S.-Venezuela situation.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed down 0.7%. The more domestically focused mid-cap index however ended 0.4% higher, holding near a four-year peak.
Energy stocks fell 3.3%, with crude oil prices down as U.S. President Donald Trump said he had reached a deal to import up to $2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude.
Heavyweight banks dropped 2.3% after rising for the last three sessions. NatWest Group fell 4.3% after Barclays downgraded its rating to "equal-weight" from "overweight".
Precious metal miners led losses, down 4.2% as gold slipped more than 1%. [GOL/]
Defence stocks, however, rose 1.7% as U.S. strikes on Venezuela earlier this week stirred geopolitical concerns.
The U.S. on Wednesday seized an empty Russian-flagged, Venezuela-linked oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean as part of Trump's aggressive push to dictate oil flows in the Americas and force Venezuela's socialist government to become an ally.
UK stocks had started the year on a strong note. The blue-chip FTSE topped 10,000 points for the first time last week as investors also priced in Bank of England rate cuts later this year. Tuesday's record high was the fourth in five sessions.
The FTSE small-cap index was down 0.1% after coming within 0.5% of its all-time high from 2021 earlier in the session.
Topps Tiles rose 4.3% after the tile retailer reported a 3.7% rise in first-quarter revenue, helped by resilient demand from builders and contractors.
Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust gained 2.9% after top shareholder Saba Capital renewed its call for investors to elect a new, independent board after a "suspiciously timed" sell-down of the trust's SpaceX stake.
(Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed and Jan Harvey)
