Miners drag FTSE down

Rio Tinto is the biggest drag on the FTSE so far with a drop of 2.37% to £25.08, closely followed by Vedanta Resources which is down 1.98% to £11.91, while Kazakhmys has slipped 1.85% to £11.17. However Swiss-based miner Xstrata is the best performer so far with a rise of 2.05% to £22.43, on news it is to raise £2.9bn through a rights issue to fund its acquisition of Canadian miner Falconbridge. Elsewhere Brambles Industries is up 1.37% to 482.5p, closely followed GlaxoSmithKline which is up 0.9% to £14.53, while Northern Rock has climbed 0.69% to £11.66, and Morrison Supermarkets are u...