London close: Footsie ends down

London's top stocks have finished slightly lower despite a late flurry as a lacklustre start on Wall Street kept stocks down.Indian refiner and miner Vedanta led the mining sector lower after saying it is to raise $1bn through an issue of convertible bonds, though major shareholder Volcan has declined to take part in the issue. Just before the close though, the group said the offering had been increased to £1.25bn. Fellow miners Antofagasta, and Fresnillo were also lower as metals prices slip.Barclays was also a major faller after it sold its fund management arm, Barclays Global Investors, to US asset manager BlackRock for £8.1bn ($13.5bn). BlackRock will pay $6.6bn in cash and the rest in shares for the unit which includes the iShares business, which Barclays had previously agreed to sell to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners in April for $4.4bn.Brokers are trying their best to keep the markets up. BT was higher after Merrill Lynch said the shares are now low enough to be worth buying. The 6.7% drop in like-for-like sales in the first four months of 2009 announced by advertising and marketing giant WPP last week has not deterred Goldman Sachs from adding the stock its conviction buy list.Shareholders at private equity group 3i have taken up 96.5% of the shares offered to them as part of the company's £700m rights issue.Building materials supplier Travis Perkins said it has received 92.7% take-up for its fully underwritten 7 for 10 rights issue to raise £314m gross and £300m net.Brit Insurance confirmed it is in talks regarding a possible all share offer for underwriter Chaucer. There can be no certainty that an offer will be forthcoming, the group added.Regal Petroleum is raising about $100m (£60.4m) via a placing with new and existing institutional shareholders to fund development of its gas and condensate fields in Ukraine. Cape, which provides support services to the energy and natural resources sectors, has won a clutch of contracts in Qatar worth $37m in aggregate. South African metal recycler SA Metals has recommended its shareholders approve a takeover offer from platinum producer Sylvania Resources. Acquisitions and strong organic growth were responsible for record results at AEC Education in 2008, the Asia focused teaching group said. Profit before tax was up to £794,473 from £298,155 in 2007 on revenue up 123% to £6.2m.FTSE 100 - RisersMan Group (EMG) 281.75p +6.02%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,116.50p +5.48%AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,621.00p +4.13%BT Group (BT.A) 96.70p +3.98%Schroders NV (SDRC) 760.00p +2.91%ICAP (IAP) 453.00p +2.03%WPP Group (WPP) 433.25p +1.82%British Airways (BAY) 145.40p +1.68%Land Securities Group (LAND) 512.00p +1.59%Cable & Wireless (CW.) 129.50p +1.49%FTSE 100 - FallersVedanta Resources (VED) 1,607.00p -8.01%Fresnillo (FRES) 652.00p -4.82%Antofagasta (ANTO) 673.50p -4.26%Barclays (BARC) 292.75p -3.86%Randgold Resources (RRS) 4,180.00p -3.66%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 733.00p -3.43%Aviva (AV.) 352.75p -3.29%TUI Travel (TT.) 239.25p -3.14%Tullow Oil (TLW) 956.00p -3.14%Old Mutual (OML) 76.10p -3.06%FTSE 250 - RisersPV Crystalox Solar (PVCS) 90.00p +8.11%GKN (GKN) 141.25p +6.20%BlueBay Asset Management (BBAY) 200.00p +5.54%Cookson Group (CKSN) 309.75p +4.65%International Personal Finance (IPF) 78.25p +4.33%Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 337.00p +3.61%Premier Foods (PFD) 45.25p +3.43%ARM Holdings (ARM) 108.75p +3.33%IG Group Holdings (IGG) 268.25p +3.27%National Express Group (NEX) 337.50p +3.21%FTSE 250 - FallersSVG Capital (SVI) 110.50p -6.75%Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 428.00p -4.89%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 300.50p -4.68%Novae Group (NVA) 357.75p -4.22%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 737.50p -3.97%PayPoint (PAY) 505.50p -3.71%Dunelm (DNLM) 229.25p -3.58%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 149.50p -3.55%Telecity Group (TCY) 289.00p -3.43%Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 241.50p -3.40%