The FTSE 100 lost momentum to close marginally lower after earlier hitting another record high during trading on Wednesday.
A number of strong earnings updates helped lift it as high as 8,091.61 but increased caution over interest rate reductions and a weaker opening on Wall Street dragged on its performance during the afternoon.
The top London index finished 4.43 points, or 0.05%, lower to end the day at 8,040.38.
“This week’s sharp rally in stock indices is slowing down,” said IG senior market analyst Axel Rudolph.
“Even though the FTSE 100 made yet another record high, the recovery in the pound sterling following Tuesday’s hawkish remarks by the BoE’s chief economist Huw Pill weighs on the index which is beginning to lose upside momentum.”
Across the Channel, the other major European markets had a similar trading pattern, dropping into the red late on.
The German Dax index was down 0.35% at the close and the Cac 40 in France ended down 0.17%
In the US, the Dow Jones dropped on the back of broad caution despite an uplift from a strong update from Boeing.
Meanwhile, sterling had a slightly more robust session after a raft of comments from Bank of England officials earlier this week but was still down against a stronger dollar.
The pound was down 0.16% at 1.243 US dollars and was 0.03% higher at 1.163 euros at market close in London.
In company news, Reckitt was among the top risers after the consumer goods firm revealed stronger-than-expected sales for the past quarter.
The company said that group like-for-like sales grew by 1.5% to £3.73 billion over the first quarter of 2024, with volume growth for key brands including Dettol, Durex and Finish.
Shares in the business rose by 124p to 4,374p.
PZ Cussons also made notable gains after it unveiled plans to sell off its St Tropez self-tanning brand and said it is reviewing its African operations amid ongoing woes in Nigeria.
The Manchester-based group said that, following a strategic review, it has decided to “refocus the group’s portfolio on where it can be most competitive”.
Investors welcomed the news, with shares improving by 6.4p to 101p as a result.
Elsewhere, Schroders dipped after the asset manager confirmed boss Peter Harrison is set to stand down after more than eight years in the role, ending his tenure as one of the FTSE 100’s longest serving financial sector chief executives.
The retirement, which will take place next year, clearly knocked sentiment around the business, with shares down 6.4p to 367.2p at the close.
Chemicals firm Croda fell by 234p to 4,654p after it said revenues fell by around a 10th over the first quarter of the year, although the firm stressed it remains on track to hit profit targets.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil was down by 0.44% to 88.03 US dollars as markets were closing in London.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Anglo American, up 94p to 2,205p, Reckitt, up 124p to 4,374p, Rio Tinto, up 133p to 5,450p, BAE Systems, up 23.5p to 1,363.5p, and IHG, up 122p to 8,120p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Croda, down 234p to 4,654p, Ocado, down 13.2p to 364.6p, Entain, down 28p to 818.8p, Persimmon, down 42.5p to 1,292p, and JD Sports, down 3.75p to 119.15p.