Glencore International was the worst performer, followed not far behind by Xstrata, both of which were pulling back after last week's strong rise - the two commodities giants are currently in talks regarding a merger.

US broker Jefferies announced today that the potential combination would be a "win/win" for both parties and a "game changer" for the mining sector. "We do expect the Glencore/Xstrata merger to happen, and we would consider this to be an industry transforming transaction in light of the potential for a subsequent acceleration of industry consolidation," analysts said.

Nevertheless, the mining sector was broadly lower, with falling metals prices and the IMF's outlook on China doing its bit to provide downward pressure. Both Vedanta Resources and Evraz were firmly in the red.

However, Randgold Resources was bucking the trend to become one of the strongest risers after the west Africa-focused gold miner saw sales in the final three months of last year rise 1.3% over the the previous quarter. Total sales for the three months to the end of December were $314m compared to $310m between July and September.

Car insurance group Admiral was also heavy faller, pulling back after Friday's strong rise following the announcement that it had extended its existing UK car insurance reinsurance partnerships with Hannover Re, Mapfre Re, New Re and Swiss Re until 2014. The weekend's snow storm across the UK may be providing a drag on the stock today.


FTSE 100 - Risers
Cairn Energy (CNE) 347.30p +6.22%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,640.00p +3.24%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 35.01p +1.79%
Man Group (EMG) 138.80p +1.54%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,180.00p +1.29%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 177.10p +1.14%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 345.00p +1.14%
Shire Plc (SHP) 2,133.00p +1.09%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,414.00p +1.05%
Amec (AMEC) 1,066.00p +1.04%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Glencore International (GLEN) 464.30p -3.78%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,000.00p -3.66%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,317.00p -3.09%
ITV (ITV) 77.40p -2.46%
Barclays (BARC) 231.85p -2.36%
Old Mutual (OML) 154.30p -2.22%
Xstrata (XTA) 1,257.50p -1.99%
Evraz (EVR) 451.40p -1.98%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 186.10p -1.90%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,426.00p -1.75%

NR

Related share prices
Cairn Energy (CNE) share price
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) share price
Xstrata (XTA) share price
Vedanta Resources (VED) share price
Admiral Group (ADM) share price
Glencore International (GLEN) share price
Evraz (EVR) share price