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The benchmark shares index dropped by 12.64 points, or 0.2 per cent, to reach 5,778.08 this morning after making gains of two per cent over the course of the month so far, reports Bloomberg.
However, losses could have been worse without the impressive data from the mining sector, with an encouraging number of mergers and acquisitions in the sector.
Xstrata was up 10.7 per cent after confirming it is in discussions with commodities trader Glencore regarding an all-share merger of equals.
"Not sure what additional synergies there are for Glencore either as they have 34 per cent shareholding and marketing rights to Xstrata already," a London-based trader said.
Nevertheless, the market treated the potential merger as good news for commodity trading and responded accordingly.
FTSE stocks rose yesterday as an improving economic picture in Asia eased the concerns of traders, the news provider noted.
Posted by Clive Arneil
