Miners give FTSE a boost

Miner Rio Tinto is posting the biggest gains so far with a rise of 1.68% to £29.06, after it announced it is increasing its buyback programme to $7bn from $4bn for 2006 and 2007. Man Group is also up 1.61% to 489.75p, closely followed by cruise operator Carnival which has climbed 1.48% to £26.03, while Vodafone has added 1.32% to 134.5p and miner Lonmin has gained 1.29% to £29.05. On the downside WPP is the biggest drag on the index with a drop of 3.77% to 663p, closely followed by GlaxoSmithKline which has slipped 2.21% to £14.19, while AstraZeneca has fallen 1.13% to £32.25. In Japa...