Wall Street flattens FTSE

Next rose 3.32% to £23.02 after gossip suggested a bid worth £25 per share is in the offing. J Sainsbury added 0.46% to £5.51 on news Asda is mulling an offer and is sounding out the Competition Commission to see if it would be allowed to proceed. Mining firm Kazakhmys ended flat at £11.53 following a Citigroup upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' at the expense of Antofagasta, which declined 0.98% to £5.03. Still with mining, Rio Tinto gained 1.37% to £28.84 and Anglo American rose 0.80% to £26.38. In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average is down 78.83 points, or 0.63%, at 12,390.24...