FTSE steady despite weak energy sector

Friends Provident posted the biggest gains with a rise of 6.7% to 207p, as sales in the last three months beat expectations with a 40% rise to £1.60bn, up from £1.14bn a year ago. Miners also performed well with Lonmin up 2.4% to £29.02, closely followed by Vedanta Resources which gained 2.09% to £14.62, while Smiths Group climbed 2.16% to 946p, and ICAP rose 2.11% to 509p. AstraZeneca was the biggest drag on the index with a fall of 1.68% to £30.98, closely followed by Cairn Energy which also slipped 1.68% to £17.55, while BP fell 1.44% to 583p, and BG Group dropped 1.21% to 695.5p. ...