A year after Brexit vote, European and UK shares diverge

Another wobble in commodity-related shares saw UK bluechips extend their underperformance against continental European peers on Friday.

Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.5 percent weighed down by weakness in mining and oil stocks, as well as in shares of large-cap dollar earners.

Friday marked the one-year anniversary of Britons voting to leave the EU which sent sterling, UK and European stocks into a tailspin.

While stocks have recovered sharply from their slump in the immediate aftermath, in US dollar terms, UK stocks continue to lag peers in Europe and elsewhere as a cloudy outlook for sterling dented appetite among foreign investors.

European blue chips retreated 0.1 percent on the day as gains in French and Italian banks helped limit losses.

Finnish and Swedish markets were closed for a holiday.