Kenya gain offsets Ghana fall for Tullow The rest of the FTSE 100 leaderboard was peppered with defensive stocks as traders returned cautious from the bank holiday weekend's political upheaval in Europe. Utilities such as Centrica - up 2.4 at 309.1p - and United Utiltiies - up 3½ at 631p - proved popular, while Tesco rose 4¼ to 323.45p, bolstered by the news it had received approval to manage its UK pension scheme, cutting its dependence on consultants. Caution in the markets turned to downright pessimism, however, as news out of Greece on the progress of forming a new government grew steadily worse and fears mounted that the country could renege on its austerity pledges. Having flitted into the black in the morning, the FTSE 100 plunged in mid-afternoon trading. It lost 100.51 to end the day at 5,554.55, erasing this year's gains with the lowest close since December 28. "Sentiment is starting to turn ugly as the political uncertainty across Europe has caused yet another bout of risk aversion for the FTSE," Angus Campbell, Head of Market Analysis at Capital Spreads said. The anti-austerity rhetoric of politicians in Greece and France was "unsettling for investors as they see the potential fallout if the rhetoric turns into reality, which is a break up of the eurozone," he said, while "rumours that Spain's third biggest lender is about to be bailed out have not done the markets any good either." Miners were among the riskier stocks falling on economic fears, with Polymetal the worst-performing of the blue chips, down 76½ at 806½p, followed by Fresnillo down 112p at £13.94. Man Group also sank, as the news it had replaced the head of risk at its embattled AHL fund did little to reassure investors worried by the recent slump in value. The hedge fund shed 6.3 to 82.45p. Down in the FTSE 250 traders were feeling just as pessimistic, sending the index falling 283.72 to 10,872.5. Miners again bore the brunt, with New World Resources the biggest faller, down 46.3 to 338.4p while Kenmare Resources lost 4.45 to 42.65p. Morgan Crucible was another fall after the carbon and ceramic products manufacturer reported a slow start to the year. Revenue in the first four months of 2012 was marginally below the comparable period last year. However, it remained confident of meeting full-year targets. Analyst Thomas Rands at Peel Hunt wrote: "The many moving parts, a slightly dull tone and a few pockets of weakness make this an interesting update. Slowing growth in China and India is offset by continued top-line and margin progression in both the Ceramics divisions. He retained a 'buy" rating, but the stock fell 30 to 281p. Doing much better in the mid-caps was oil producer Exillon Energy, which rose 2 to 125p on the back of a 55pc rise in output from its fields in northern Russia for the first four months of 2012. Invensys also soared, up 10½ to 213.2p amid renewed speculation that the engineering group might be a bid target. Germany's Siemens and China's CSR had previously been mentioned as possible buyers. "Bid rumours are resurfacing and doing the rounds, but there's nothing concrete," one trader told Reuters. In the small caps, Thomas Cook Group shares took off as investors reacted to the weekend's news that the it had secured a new funding lifeline. The travel group briefly soared as high as 24½p before coming back down to land at 21½p, up just ½p on the day The legal fallout from the Gulf of Mexico disaster could weigh on BP until 2016, analysts at Barclays warned, as they downgraded the stock from 'equal weight" to 'underweight." While BP has agreed a compensation claims settlement, its dispute with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) continues and a trial has now been delayed until 2013. Analysts noted the DoJ argued for it to proceed this summer, suggesting that meant "that little progress has been made in reaching an out of court settlement" and a swift resolution was now less likely - especially in a US election year. BP could now be "dead money" over the next year and "might not be able to fully put the Macondo issue behind it until at least 2014 and potentially out to 2016, if BP were to go to appeal," they wrote. BP fell 7.15 to 415p.