Miners are, on the whole, still heading higher. But Xstrata is an exception, with its shares fallling 83p to £35.11, a near 2.5% decline.
After recent talk that Brazil's Vale could renew its bid interest, that hope seems to have been dashed. Reuters is reporting Vale's finance director as saying the deal is dead, as the company had decided not to maintain its $50bn credit line it opened for the acquisition. The deadline to use the facililty expired on March 31.
Utilities are now leading the way, with BG boosted by an upbeat note from UBS and rising 27p to £11.52. Severn Trent recovered from yesterday's fall, adding 38p to £14.52 and International Power up 10.75p at 425.75p.
