By Preeti Upadhyaya, MarketWatch LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The main U.K. stock index traded modestly lower Monday, as weakness in the mining sector weighed. The FTSE 100 extended losses shortly after a new lawsuit was filed against the European Stability Mechanism in Germany's constitutional court, according to media reports. It recouped some of those losses to close 0.3% lower at 5,831.88. Miners led the index lower, with Vedanta Resources PLC dropping 2% and Kazakhmys PLC trading 1% lower. Anglo American PLC fell 1% and Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. PLC shed 0.8%. It was the same for sector heavyweights Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) and BHP Billiton PLC (BHP), shares of which were off by 0.2% and 0.6%, respectively. Metal prices were lower. Also weaker, Petrofac Ltd. slumped 5.2%, after reporting a 32% increase in net profit for the first half of the year, as the oil-services firm also said second-half profit will be lower than in the first six months. Shares of Standard Chartered PLC , much in the headlines lately, picked up 0.5%. Food retailers were on the rise, as Tesco PLC lifted the index, adding 0.5%, while J Sainsbury PLC rose 0.7%. Moving in the other direction, pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) slipped 0.4%. The U.K. index, much like the rest of Europe, was focused on what kind of supporting role central banks would play as the global economy loses momentum, according to Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin in London. "Markets are reluctant to give up an awful lot of ground," he continued, adding that while mining firms continued to slump thanks to disappointing Chinese data from last week, the rest of the index is well supported by the prospect that central banks will ultimately act to help the global economy. Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
