Insurers and Spirax drag down UK's FTSE 100 index

Aug 11 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 index fell for a second session on Tuesday as shares in Spirax tumbled after the valve maker's full-year guidance disappointed investors while Legal & General led a selloff in insurers after multiple brokerage downgrades.

• The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.17% down at 10,844.19 points while the mid-cap FTSE 250 rose 0.22% to 24,799.75.

• Spirax shares fell 5.6%, becoming the biggest decliner in the FTSE 100, after the company maintained its annual forecast despite improved first-half results.

• Shares in Legal & General dropped 3.1% after UBS and Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to "sell" from "neutral". UBS pointed to peak valuations, lower margins from its pension risk transfer business and a falling solvency ratio among the reasons for the downgrade.

• Oil prices rose after negotiations between the United States and Iran over a peace deal and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz hit an impasse, lifting oil majors BP and Shell by 1.8% and 2.2% respectively.

• An index of FTSE 350 insurers dropped 2.5%, with shares of Standard Life and Prudential also pressured.

• Investors are awaiting U.S. inflation data on Wednesday as well as second-quarter UK GDP data on Thursday to gauge the monetary policy outlook on both sides of the Atlantic.

• British consumers spent more on food and in pubs last month on the back of England's run to the World Cup semi-finals and hot weather boosted clothing sales, but they remained wary of big outlays, according to surveys published on Tuesday.

• The British Retail Consortium's total retail sales measure rose by a below-average 1.3% from July 2025, slowing from 1.9% in June.

• Among mid-cap stocks, Genuit slid 5.6% after downbeat earnings hit by the Middle East conflict and wet weather.

(Reporting by Anand Gopal and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo and David Goodman)