QE worries weigh on miners, FTSE 100

The big miners dragged the FTSE 100 down this morning, amid fears that a proposed US quantitative easing package saw the dollar strengthen. Kazakhmys was the biggest mover on the index, down 3.7% to 1341p. Xstrata , Antofagasta , Rio Tinto and Lonmin were all among the top fallers too, as the FTSE 100 as a whole fell 20 points, or by 0.34% to 5688. The dollar rose after a report in the Wall Street Journal suggested that the Federal Reserve's proposed quantitative easing package may be smaller than expected. The falls also came despite a Credit Suisse note this morning upgrading the global mining sector to "Overweight".