The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.4%, as of 0717 GMT, while the domestically focussed midcap index dropped 0.2%. Both indexes inched lower for a third day after clocking strong gains in July.
Global markets were also volatile after a trio of Federal Reserve policymakers signalled on Tuesday that there would be no let-up in the tightening campaign, while investors assessed the fallout of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan visit, which has angered China. [MKTS/GLOB]
Shares of Avast Plc soared 42.2% after Britain's competition regulator said it has provisionally cleared cybersecurity firm NortonLifeLock's $8.6 billion purchase of its rival.
Hiscox tumbled 8.3% after the Lloyd's of London insurer posted a first-half pretax loss of $107 million, hit by a steep decline in the value of its investment portfolio.
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
