BP, Hunting lead UK shares lower

London's stock markets eased on Tuesday as the prospect of a Brexit 'flextension' and parliament rejecting Prime Minister Boris Johnson's demand for an election before Christmas kept investors guessing and wary of taking more risk. The FTSE 100 was 0.1% lower by 0807 GMT, pulling back from a near one-month high in the previous session. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was also marginally lower.

Oil major BP weighed the most on the main bourse, dropping nearly 1% after posting a sharp drop in third-quarter profit on the back of weaker oil prices and lower production. Oilfield services provider Hunting fell as much as 7% to the bottom of the FTSE 250 in early deals after a warning on profits as it struggles with a slowdown in the U.S. onshore drilling market.

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