Sector movers: Supermarkets and other retails weigh heavily

Supermarkets have dragged the FTSE down today, with Sainsbury and Morrison weighing particularly heavily, on the back of competition fears. According to Alex Conroy at Spreadex, the declines are due to "growing fear that German competitor's such as Aldi and Lidl and their discount prices are cutting into the main UK supermarkets market share".Other retailers were also in the red, particularly Sports Direct and Marks and Spencer, as investors fear the discounted prices will not have been sufficiently offset by the volume of sales after reports of mixed trading over the festive period.Meanwhile, miners were putting in a strong performance at the other end of the index, with Anglo American and Melrose Industries leading the way, buoyed by the reports from China that a potential credit crisis is not as likely as matter chatter would have. According to David Madden, a Market Analyst at IG, "easy access to cash is sure to keep the Asian tiger roaring". Top performing sectors so far todayIndustrial Metals & Mining 1,421.97 +2.74%Forestry & Paper 11,256.07 +1.85%Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 22,088.58 +1.05%Personal Goods 24,628.75 +0.83%Mining 16,497.17 +0.75%Bottom performing sectors so far todayFood & Drug Retailers 4,443.76 -1.14%Tobacco 36,133.51 -1.11%Automobiles & Parts 8,671.89 -0.96%Aerospace and Defence 5,358.16 -0.90%Fixed Line Telecommunications 4,389.86 -0.82%