London shares closed lower at the end of trade on Thursday with investors nervous over the outlook ahead of another EU finance ministers meeting.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 1.15 percent at 5,742.03 points.

Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) was the most traded stock, seeing 200 million units change hands, followed by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which saw 120 million units switched owners.

International Power was the biggest blue-chip gainer, up 5.63 percent -- or 21.60 pence -- at 405. It was followed by Rio Tinto which ascended 1.79 percent -- or 59.50 pence -- to close at 3375.5.

Barclays was the day's worst performer, its shares slipping 4.66 percent -- or 11.45 pence -- to 234.15, followed by Aviva which shed 3.42 percent -- or 11.50 pence -- at 325.1.

The pound was worth $1.5909 at 5:02 pm, down up from $1.5889 at the same time on Wednesday, while the sterling stood at 1.1992 euros, climbing from 1.1931 over the same period.