Vernalis PLC Share News (VER)

The miners are on the decline Tuesday, helped lower by the falling metals prices. Copper and gold futures have fallen as the escalating crisis in Japan has bought about concerns over demand.Mining titans Kazakhmys, Eurasian Natural Resources Corp, Anglo American, Antofagasta and Fresnillo are all losing 3% or more.Meanwhile, the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sector is being boosted by drug developer Vernalis, whose strong royalties from its migraine treatment Frovatriptan held it to narrow losses in 2010.Sector giants AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline are slightly higher on the FTSE 100.---bcTop performing sectors so far todayPharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 8,992.67 +0.87%Travel & Leisure 4,531.92 +0.78%Electricity 8,136.11 +0.68%Tobacco 28,783.66 +0.55%Food & Drug Retailers 4,658.84 +0.54%Bottom performing sectors so far todayIndustrial Metals & Mining 8,179.30 -3.61%Automobiles & Parts 4,622.36 -3.37%Mining 27,222.54 -2.68%Chemicals 6,926.01 -2.62%Personal Goods 19,003.71 -2.50%