Insurers and Spirax drag down UK's FTSE 100 index

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 .FTSE closed 0.17% down at 10,844.19 points while the mid-cap FTSE 250 .FTMC rose 0.22% to 24,799.75.
• Spirax SPX.L 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 LGEN.L 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.
• An index of FTSE 350 insurers .FTNMX303010 dropped 2.5%, with shares of Standard Life SDLF.L and Prudential PRU.L also pressured.

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