Profit taking in the mining sector continues to weigh on the FTSE 100 index as Wall Street opens lower after disappointing Christmas trading figures from Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer.
The FTSE 100 index is down 66.65 points at 4440.86 points in mid-afternoon, having traded in a rough 60 point range, between 4470 and 4410, since the Bank of England's half-point cut in rates. On Wall Street the Dow Jones is down almost 90 points at 8681.53 points.
Antofagasta is down 1p at 452.5p, having been down strongly in early trading after Merrill Lynch downgraded its earnings forecast for the copper miner to reflect declines in the price of the metal.
Vedanta Resources has lost 53.5p to 696.5p, Anglo American 119p to £16.06 and Xstrata 60p to 849p.
Lloyds TSB is headed in the opposite direction, however, up 3.6p at 127.5p on yesterday's move to boost its tier 1 capital which traders reckon could hasten a buyback of the government's £4bn worth of preference shares and the payment of an - albeit small - dividend.
