LONDON (AFP) - The FTSE 100 was lower on Wednesday, pulled down by the property sector which was hit by news that housebuilder Taylor Wimpey saw its profits evaporate in the first half of the year.

The index of leading shares shed 0.59 percent to stand at 5,438.30 points in late morning trade.

Taylor Wimpey said it suffered a massive first-half net loss of 1.419 billion pounds because of "challenging" housing markets in Britain, Spain and the United States.

Taylor Wimpey, which operates across all three countries, said in an earnings release that deteriorating property sectors had forced it to write down the value of its land.

The net loss, equivalent to 1.8 billion euros or 2.6 billion dollars, was recorded in the six months to the end of June, the group said. That compared with a net profit of 22.7 million pounds in the same period of 2007.

Disappointed investors sent Taylor Wimpey's share price sliding 4.75 percent to 49.53 pence on the FTSE 250 index, which was down 0.94 percent at 9,047.80 points.

Property group British Land shed 2.75 percent to 726 pence while its peer, Land Securities, sank 1.75 percent to 1,293 pence.

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