Strong miners give FTSE a boost

Miner Vedanta Resources is posting the biggest gains so far with a rise of 3.28% to £14.79, closely followed by Swiss miner Xstrata which has climbed 1.91%, or 43p, to £22.97. Oil stocks are also up with Royal Dutch Shell climbing 3.2% to £19.01, after it reported a better than expected 33% increase in third quarter earnings per share, while production was up to 3.251m barrels per day from 3.207m. AstraZeneca is the biggest drag on the index so far with a drop of 4.02% to £33.87, on news it has stopped the development of its experimental stroke drug NXY-059 after it failed to reduce s...