It was another bad day for the miners. Metal prices have been weakening on fears that a US recession would hit demand, and a fairly gloomy statement from US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke did not help matters.
So Vedanta Resources was the biggest faller in the FTSE 100 index, down 125p to £17.60, closely followed by Kazakhmys, 62p lower at £11.31. Anglo American was 110p lower at £26.03 as it unveiled plans to buy two iron ore projects owned by Brazil's MMX Mineracao for $5.5bn.
An early attempt by the FTSE 100 to regain the 6000 level ended in failure. With another spate of poor economic news from the US - not to mention Merrill Lynch's $9.8bn quarterly loss - Wall Street fell sharply and dragged the FTSE 100 with it. By the close, the leading index was down 40.5 at 5902.4, but the FTSE 250 edged up 35.7 points at 9662.6.
Retailers were a bright spot, with Comet owner Kesa Electricals closing 17.25p higher at 201p after a positive Christmas trading statement.
An intriguing little tale is unfolding among the minnows. Payzone - formed from the merger of cash machine operator Cardpoint and Ireland's Alphyra- saw its Aim-listed shares suspended at 47.75, but not for any of the usual reasons. This suspension followed an injunction issued by the High Court in Ireland preventing the company from dismissing its chief executive and chief financial officer. John Nagle and John Williamson came from the Alphyra side, while chairman Bob Thian - whom the company announced yesterday would assume executive responsibilities - chaired Cardpoint.
