US concerns drag on FTSE 100 The blue-chips erased yesterday's paltry gains as investors in London turned their attention to the problems facing the US economy. The FTSE 100 followed US markets lower and lost 24 points in early trading after adding just 12.99 on Tuesday, as concerns about political negotiations over US tax hikes and spending cuts unnerved investors. Traders were worried by signs that talks over the so-called "fiscal cliff" were moving slowly, with Harry Reid, the US Senate majority leader, saying "little progress" had been made. "Given [earnings-per-share] estimates in the US are 20pc above trend, we suggest that the apparent valuation attraction of equities is not pricing in the likely downgrades to profits if the fiscal debate does not come to a quick resolution," said Shore Capital strategist Gerard Lane. We remain of the view that equities are fully valued and likely to move lower. Moving against the wider market trend was Marks & Spencer, which topped the FTSE 100 after agreeing a 10 year funding plan with its pension scheme trustees. The shares climbed 3pc in early deals. Strong first-half results sent United Utilities shares bubbling up 2.1pc, while a price target upgrade at Barclays for ARM Holdings pushed the chip designer 1.6pc higher. On the mid-cap FTSE 250, which dipped 35 points, troubled miner Talvivaara was a heavy faller, down 6.1pc. The group has been hurt by an environmental crisis at its mine in eastern Finland and this morning disappointed the market by saying nickel production this year would total about 13,000 tonnes. However, it was insurer Lancashire Holdings that suffered the heaviest fall on the FTSE 250. The shares tumbled 7.7pc after analysts at JPMorgan cut their target price to 860p from 920p.