Miners and oil companies lift otherwise lacklustre FTSE

Mining and oil stocks helped London’s blue chip index to close just above flat – up a scant 5.87 points, or 0.1% -- as oil prices rose again, and traders contended with earlier falls on Asian markets, and declines on key European indices. The FTSE 100 ended the day at 5,524.1, down 96.7 points from its opening at the beginning of another fraught week. It is down close to 1,000 points from its levels of nine months ago. The FTSE 250 also ended the day barely above level, at 9,113.2, up 5.9 points. As London was closing, the DJIA, which fell by 3% yesterday, was down another half a perc...