Miners continue to come under pressure, as Morgan Stanley downgrades a number of companies and Rio Tinto fell back on talk of problems in Guinea.
Rio has slipped 68p to £33.77 on reports the Guinea government had threatened to take away part of the Simandou iron ore concession in the country from Rio. But the company said it continued to maintain the rights to the whole project, had completed a pre-feasibility study and wanted to move ahead to develop the mine. The company is currently conducting an investor site visit in Australia, with Credit Suisse analysts issuing a note saying the company was attractive at current prices.
Overall of course, the sector is being hit by investors shying away from risk again on concerns about global economic growth. Xstrata is also being hit by Morgan Stanley edging its price target down from £15.81 to £15.71. The company is down 29p at £10.19 - still some way below the bank's revised lower target.
BHP Billiton is down 36p to £19.52 while Lonmin - where Morgan Stanley has cut from £20.65 to £20.47 - has lost 34p to £16.57. All this has helped keep the FTSE 100 31.33 points lower at 5215.65.
