Afternoon Markets: FTSE rallies despite mining woes

A bright start on Wall Street has prompted a rally by London 's blue chips despite another tough...

A bright start on Wall Street has prompted a rally by London's blue chips despite another tough day for the miners on weak metal prices and recession worries. The blue-chip index is currently trading at 4062.27 up 0.56% on this morning's opening level of 4040.89, while the Dow Jones is up 2.07% to 8695.71. Lonmin, Vedanta Resources, Antofagasta and Kazakhmys are all down in a weak mining sector. But it is Rio Tinto that is bearing the brunt of the selling on news that EU regulators told lawyers of BHP Billiton its hostile bid for Rio may break competition rules. Xstrata is also weak.