Dow slump triggers FTSE falls

Despite positive signs for the retail sector following a surge in sales at supermarket giant Sainsbury's, a raft of mining declines sent London's blue chip index 51.03 points down, or 1.13%, to 4,456.48 by 8:25am. The FTSE is now more than 180 points lower than Tuesday's close. The top five laggards so far are all from the resources sector - with Rio Tinto and Kazakhmys 5.41% and 4.72% behind respectively. Tullow Oil leads the way early, 4.15% ahead to 742.50, while a number of banking stocks have made small advances. While Sainsbury's reported 4.5% rise in sales over the Christmas pe...