Icap was among the sharpest fallers on Wednesday as the FTSE 100 slipped from a four-month high. Shares in the inter-dealer broker lost 4.3 per cent to 404p on word Michael Spencer, its chief executive, had cut his stake.

After the market closed, Icap confirmed Mr Spencer had sold 12.7m shares held by his investment company at 390p each, and cashed in another 2.3m of options at the same price to meet a tax bill. The £88.5m disposal cut Mr Spencer’s stake to 19 per cent from 21.3 per cent.