Rio Tinto drags FTSE 100 down

The FTSE 100 continued its downward trend in early trading, falling 0.13 per cent to 4,322.83 led by a tumbling Rio Tinto stock.

Mining firm Rio Tinto fell by 19.41 per cent by 08:30 BST, after seeing a sharp decline in first quarter profits.

Companies going ex-dividend also contributed to the fall in share prices, including United Utilities, which was down by 4.55 per cent, and Imperial Tobacco, down by 1.19 per cent.

Royal Bank of Scotland and Shire helped support the index, up 2.10 per cent and 2.02 per cent respectively.

Wall Street also slipped, and yesterday the Dow Jones was off by 1.3 per cent, while the S&P 500 was down by 1.1 per cent.