The London market closed lower after Tuesday's all-time high as traders pulled back from a fresh assault on the 7000 barrier.

Comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen that policymakers will be patient about lifting borrowing costs because wage growth remains sluggish were enough to push the market past its previous peak of 6950.

But today the FTSE 100 Index fell 14.3 points to 6935.4, as Greece's prime minister Alexis Tsipras faced political criticism from opposition parties for negotiating a four-month bailout extension.

IG senior market analyst Chris Beauchamp said: "Yesterday's optimism has been replaced by a more tempered assessment of the situation."

The less certain outlook for US interest rates strengthened the pound's position against the dollar, with sterling up to 1.55 against the greenback and also higher versus the euro at 1.36.

The weak performance for the FTSE 100 Index saw oil and gas services firm Weir lose 9% of its value after it reported a 2% drop in profits for last year and highlighted an uncertain outlook for 2015.

Chief executive Keith Cochrane warned that the company's strategic progress and cost initiatives will only partly offset the impact of a substantial reduction in demand and the associated pricing pressure. Shares fell 163p to 1700p.

In contrast, wealth manager St James's Place rose 4%, or 38p at 930p, to the top of the FTSE 100 Index after it reported a 29% rise in annual operating profits and said it was well placed to continue its growth this year.

Other risers included Premier Inn and Costa coffee chain Whitbread after it forecast that it will deliver results at the top end of expectations.

Shares rose 140p at 5245p, a gain of almost 3%, as it recorded overall growth of 5.8% on a like-for-like basis for the final quarter of the year.

Morrisons lifted 1.1p to 192.9p after it confirmed the appointment of former Tesco executive David Potts as its chief executive from next month.

His arrival has been welcomed by City analysts as the UK's fourth biggest grocery looks to build on recent signs of improved trading.

Shares in rival Tesco were 2.5p stronger at 240.9p and Sainsbury's added 1.7p to 271.7p.

Outside the top flight, Superdry owner SuperGroup dropped 39p to 975p as it emerged that its chief financial officer Shaun Wills had left the role in the wake of being declared bankrupt.

And online appliances retailer AO World slumped 32% or 89p to 192p following a profits warning triggered by the impact of Black Friday trading on fourth quarter sales.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were St James's Place up 38p at 930p, Sky up 31p at 1005p, Whitbread up 140p at 5245p, Mondi up 30p 1340p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 Index were Weir Group down 163p at 1700p, Standard Chartered down 24.3p at 926.3p, Smiths Group down 26p at 1137p and GKN down 7.9p at 365.7p.