Cigarette maker Imperial Tobacco and soup maker Unilever dragged on the FTSE 100 today, while losses for miners added to the pressure and left the index down more than 20 points at the close.
The Bank of England's decision to leave interest rates steady brought only brief respite as traders bet another rise was still to come before the summer even if policymakers decided to hold fire today.
There were strong gains for some of the bluechips on a day packed with corporate results. But rises for Smith & Nephew, BT and GlaxoSmithKline were outweighed by losses elsewhere and a subdued start to trading on Wall Street.
US stocks, particularly in the financial sector, were hurt by a warning from HSBC on problems at its US mortgage lending arm.
Back in the UK, HSBC's London-listed shares ended down 14p at 917p, having earlier hit a nine-month low as shocked analysts said it was the first time in memory that the bank had released material information ahead of its results release.
Despite both the Bank and the European Central Bank leaving rates on hold after their latest meetings, the FTSE 100 ended down 23.1 points, or 0.36%, at 6346.4.
Among the risers, GlaxoSmithKline had a starring role after it posted a 16% rise in annual profits and cheered investors with an upbeat outlook for earnings per share growth.
Europe's biggest drugmaker saw its shares take off by 22p to £14.22 after it said pre-tax profits were up almost a fifth to £7.8bn in 2006. It said EPS growth would be a better-than-expected 8% to 10% in the coming year.
Medical equipment company Smith & Nephew topped the gainers after its late morning results beat forecasts. It shares were up 37.25p, or 6.5%, at 615p following the news of a 29% increase in full-year profits. It also cheered shareholders with news it will buy back $1.5bn (£761m) of shares over the next two years. The group, which makes hip replacement devices and wound dressings, saw sales increase by 8% to $2.8bn. Profits were $550m.
BT also posted some tidy gains after its latest quarter came out in line with expectations. The shares added 3.75p to 320.25p.
The results showed BT's retail business revenues grew in the last three months of 2006, the first time for almost four years that its core UK operation has moved ahead as the company grabbed a larger slice of the broadband internet market. The group also gained more customers for its core residential telephony business than it lost over the third quarter, the first time it has managed to gain share in the voice market against rivals such as Carphone Warehouse's TalkTalk service since 2002.
In the media sector, it was supposed to be Nasdaq-listed NTL Telewest's day as it rebranded to Virgin Media in a launch complete with a Sir Richard Branson publicity stunt. But rival BSkyB - fresh from spoiling NTL's ITV bid plans - yet again sought to steal the limelight. In a move Virgin Media described as a "hastily-assembled announcement" in response to its own launch, Sky unveiled plans for a pay-TV service on digital terrestrial television later this year. Its shares ended up 2.5p at 561.5p.
Elsewhere in the sector, ITV slipped 0.75p to 111.25p after reports after reports it may bid for Big Brother and Deal or no Deal group Endemol, majority owned by Spanish telecoms group Telefonica. The Telefonica chairman and chief executive, Cesar Alierta, and the company board are expected to the give an official green light for the sale of its Endemol subsidiary at a meeting next week, following months of speculation and informal talks with possible buyers.
Back among the gainers, BG Group also joined the chorus of companies posting results and rose on the back of record full-year earnings up 21% to £1.64bn. The oil exploration and production group spun out of the British Gas stable in the 1990s also said its prospects look bright for the next decade, leaving its shares 29p higher at 725p.
Cillit Bang maker Reckitt Benckiser reported a jump in profits, which lifted its shares more than 4%, or 111p, to £25.95. The group was the second-biggest riser behind Smith & Nephew after it set new sales and profit growth targets.
Keith Bowman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, described the figures as "top of the range".
"With management raising 2007 targets, investors might again expect to see brokers raising their profit forecasts over coming days," he said.
"Overall, today's results should leave investors very satisfied - cash generation remains strong, the dividend has been raised by 17%."
He said the Mr Sheen polish maker continues to put sales pressure on rivals such as Unilever, which was at the other end of the market to Reckitt today.
Unilever shares were among the biggest fallers after the maker of Knorr soup and Dove soap disappointed analysts with its sales growth. The shares fell 34p to £13.89 despite reassurance from chief executive Patrick Cescau that underlying sales would grow within the group's 3% to 5% longer-term target range this year.
Imperial Tobacco was also down after news it had agreed to buy the United States' fourth-biggest cigarette maker Commonwealth Brands. The acquisition was seen as making a takeover of Imperial Tobacco less likely and the shares fell 61p to £21.70.
Among the miners, Xstrata fell 51p to £23.45 and Lonmin lost 66p to £31.23.
Among the smallcaps, Accident Exchange tumbled 57p, or 16.7%, to 284p after it took the opportunity of a falling share price to update the market on recent trading. News of a drier than usual January impacting on the replacement vehicle provider prompted analysts at house broker Numis to cut their recommendation to hold from add.