Miners fail to drag down FTSE

Vedanta Resources was the biggest drag on the index with a drop of 3.01% to £13.21, while Antofagasta finished down 2.07% to 461p, and Rio Tinto ended lower with a fall of 1.11% to £26.72. However retailers provided a boost as Next led the gains with a rise of 3.78% to £17.28, while GUS ended the day up 2.64% to 973p, and Sage Group also performed well with a rise of 2.32% to 242.5p. ICAP also ended the day well with gains of 3.56% to 466p, closely followed by energy firm BG Group which added 1.96% to 677p, although drug company AstraZeneca limited gains with a fall of 1.35% to £33, w...