But high-street retailer Marks & Spencer advanced almost 2 percent after investment bank Citigroup said it looked set to perform well in a difficult retail environment, and bid talk boosted shares in telecoms firm Cable & Wireless.
The FTSE 100 share index closed 21.1 points, or 0.4 percent, lower at 5,439.8 points - about 75 points off four-year highs set on October 3.
"We have had a pretty heady few weeks from 5,500 down to 5,100 and pretty much back up to 5,500," said Hargreaves Lansdown head of UK equities Richard Hunter. "It does seem to be a time for reflection in the absence of corporate news."
However, analysts remain bullish on UK equities, with relatively low valuations combining with mergers and acquisitions activity.
"We have had a very strong rebound from what was an abrupt sell-off which did not look to be well grounded in fundamentals," said Cazenove strategist Tristan Hanson. "We are almost back to where we were at the start of October and the near-term outlook is still pretty good."
Utility Centrica headed the list of FTSE 100 fallers, down 2.1 percent. Dealers said higher gas prices were weighing on the stock. Scottish & Southern also said it would raise household gas and power bills from January 1 in response to rising wholesale costs.
"Scottish & Southern have come out with an announcement ... There's going to be a lot more cost pressure, it's going to become a lot more competitive and Centrica have potentially been seen as weaker," said Hargreaves' Hunter.
Shares trading without the right to the latest dividend payment crowded the list of FTSE fallers, with broadcaster ITV down 0.5 percent and oil major BP off by 2 percent. Oil prices traded at their lowest levels in three months, weighing further on the oil and gas sector, after US crude stocks rose more than expected last week
Airports operator BAA - another stock to trade ex-dividend - shed 1.5 percent after it said it expected traffic growth to slow to 3 percent this year, off the record highs of recent years which came amid a boom in budget air travel and a recovery in long-haul, though some analysts say it could miss that goal.
Cazenove downgraded the stock to "in-line" from "outperform", further weighing on the stock.
Vodafone was another drag, slipping 0.7 percent to track the European telecoms sector after a cut in guidance from Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile weighed on sentiment. Market watchers said concerns over its dividend were also rattling the stock.
"Several investors tell us they hope for a big dividend increase. We fear disappointment," Citigroup analysts said in a note.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca dipped 1 percent after investment bank CSFB cut its target on the stock. AstraZeneca announced it was suing Teva Pharmaceuticals over the Israeli firm's plans to launch a copycat version of one of its biggest and fastest-growing drugs.
On the upside, Cable & Wireless extended Tuesday's rise, adding more than 1 percent, following reported comments on potential bid manoeuvrings by its chairman, Richard Lapthorne.
The Independent newspaper said Lapthorne believes it is a certainty that private equity funds are analysing a take-over of the group.
Online gaming firm PartyGaming rose 2.3 percent following upbeat comments from Citigroup analysts. Market talk that its possible take-over of Empire Online may not go ahead also supported the stock. Empire's shares fell 3.4 percent.
Hedge fund Man Group rose 1.9 percent after its key AHL fund rose 2.8 percent in the last week.
The Bank of England is widely expected to keep interest rates at 4.5 percent on Thursday, after cutting from 4.75 percent in August.