FTSE 100 dragged lower by mining and tobacco firms

(Close): The London market was dragged lower by mining and tobacco firms, but shares in Kingfisher rose after it announced plans to revamp the business.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index closed down 118 points at 6,773.04.

Mining giant Anglo American, was the biggest faller on the index, falling by 4.5%.

Tobacco companies also came under pressure. Shares in Imperial Tobacco dropped 3.4% while British American Tobacco fell 2.95%.

Overall, the FTSE 100 finished the first three months with its strongest quarterly gain since 2013.

Kingfisher shares rose 4.3% after its new chief executive Veronique Laury unveiled plans to revamp the business, which also include the closure of some loss-making stores in Europe.

In the FTSE 250 index, outsourcing firm Mitie fell 5.6% after it issued a profit warning.

The company said that due to "market pressures in the homecare and social housing businesses we expect our full year headline operating profit to be slightly below current market expectations".

Thomas Cook shares rose 1.8% after the travel firm said it was on track to meet full-year forecasts, helped by strong winter bookings.

On the currency markets, the pound rose 0.25% against the dollar to $1.4848, while against the euro, sterling rose 1.21% to €1.3832.

The pound was given a lift against the euro by news that the UK's economy grew by more than previously estimated last year.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the economy grew by 2.8% last year, up from the previous estimate of 2.6%. The growth rate for the fourth quarter of 2014 was upgraded to 0.6% from 0.5%.