Aviva falls as brokers call time on rally Aviva was the biggest single faller on the FTSE 100 on Tuesday, after two separate brokers cut their rating on the stock following its recent strong run higher. The moves came after a sustained recovery for the insurer's shares since it announced plans during the summer to wind down about a third of its businesses in order to avoid cutting its dividend or raising fresh equity. Deutsche Bank cut its rating on the stock from "buy" to "hold" after a 40 per cent rally off its June lows, helped by the new management strategy. "We remain strongly supportive of the group's plans," said Oliver Steel, Deutsche analyst, in a note to the broker's clients. However, even if these are delivered in full - which for the cost savings won't be clear before 2014 - the narrowing price/earnings discount to the sector now leaves little room for disappointment. Bank of America Merrill Lynch reduced its rating from "neutral" to "underperform," also on valuation grounds. But Blair Stewart, BofA ML, analyst, was more cautious: "We think Aviva's European bancassurance model is likely to face tough tests in the years ahead as banks restructure and focus on deleveraging and an improved funding mix." Aviva's shares fell 4.7 per cent to 342.6p. It was the biggest single loss on the FTSE 100 by a clear margin as the index's move away from 5,900 points gathered pace, with a loss of 39 points taking it to 5,854.83, a retreat of 0.7 per cent. James A. Hyerczyk, analyst at Autochartist, said: "Based on the FTSE 100"s near-term rally of 5,757.00 to 5,932.60, the next potential downside target is 5,844.80 to 5,824.08. Since the main trend is up, a test of this area is likely to be perceived by trend traders as a buying opportunity. In the meantime, the list of the biggest fallers was dominated by resource and financial stocks, as the move away from risk continued with traders becoming accustomed to the prospect of QE3 in the US and unlimited bond buying by the European Central Bank. Royal Bank of Scotland lost 3.4 per cent to 265p while Barclays fell 3.4 per cent to 221.7p. Vedanta Resources made the biggest fall among miners, down 3.5 per cent to £10.54. BP was 2.5 per cent weaker at 440p.