Aviva weighs on FTSE

Aviva has fallen 8p, or 1.12%, to 705p after the insurer agreed to pay $2.9bin in cash for US life insurer AmerUS Group in a deal to boost its presence in the US. The mining sector is weighing on the index as copper prices ease off recent six-week highs and investors take profits on recent gains. Antofagasta is down 2.92% to 432.50p, Rio Tinto has fallen 2.15% to 2,823p and Kazakhmys is down 2.91% to 1,203p. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 151.37 points, or 1%, to 15,097.95 points, led by technology-related companies after brokerages cut earnings estimates. Canon dropped...