Market round-up: Mining firms regain foothold while tobacco burns low

BAT's Souza Cruz Offer — British American Tobacco faced a loss Reuters

The FTSE 100 solidified its downward streak on 20 August when it hit a seven-month low in an 11-day losing streak. Weak retail sales in the UK and slow going in Asia made their mark.

"Miners were to the fore on both the blue-chip and FTSE 250 boards with heavyweights Anglo American, Antofagasta, Glencore, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto reversing some of the previous day's losses and among the top echelon of risers,"" said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. Rangold Resources gained +5.79% followed by Fresnillo, which rose +5.63% to top the market.

Another standout performer came in the form of Kazakhstan-focused KAZ Minerals. Its shares rose 20% before easing back. The FTSE 250-listed miner, said Mould, "is benefiting from the devaluation of the Kazakh tenge which has driven down operating costs and falls in the Chinese and Russian currencies as both countries are major trading partners with Kazakhstan".

The FTSE 100 closed at 6,367.89p, losing -0.56%. British American Tobacco faced a -0.70% loss after Australia's Cancer Council of Victoria revealed it will fight a Freedom of Information request by the company to access details from classroom surveys about young people's attitudes towards smoking. Imperial Tobacco was also down.