Morning Markets: FTSE holds steady ahead of new data

Shares in Arriva edged up 0.4% to 769p after the transport group agreed to a take-over by German firm Deutsche Bahn. Miners also did well, with Vedanta Resources up 2.99% to £27.54 and Randgold Resources rising 2.56% to £52.05. Punch Taverns fell 5.7% after reporting a 20% drop in half-year profits to £66m, and warning it was spending £2m a month to support struggling tenants. Financials were also down, with Aviva falling 1.09% to 381.50p, Prudential down 0.80% to 560p and Old Mutual dropping 0.25% to 117.40p. In the US, the Dow Jones index edged up by 6.9 points, less than 0.1% to...