The picture in the mining sector has changed during the course of the morning.
BHP Billiton is down 29p at £10.46, while bid target Rio Tinto has fallen 106p to £27.94. BHP has just announced it has received a long-awaited statement of objections from the European Commission to the proposed $69bn offer. It says it is co-operating with the EC and will respond to address the issues raised. The EC's initial reaction to the deal was to express concerns that it could result in higher prices and reduced choice for customers of the merged group, especially in iron ore.
One outcome could be for BHP to sell off some assets of the combined business to address the competition issues.
Meanwhile Antofagasta has reversed an earlier decline to climb 5.75p to 402.5p after it announced a 23% year on year rise in third quarter copper production. This has helped Kazakhmys - lifted yesterday by a recommendation from Arbuthnot Securities - to rise another 21p to 358.75p.
