Britain's benchmark equity index edged lower on Monday on a decline in major mining stocks, while persistent concerns of a reduction in U.S. economic stimulus measures also hit sentiment, Reuters reported. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down by 0.2 percent, or 11.40 points lower, at 6,488.59 points in mid-session trade. A fall in mining stocks took the most points off the index. The FTSE 350 Mining Index shed 1.3 percent as the price of copper eased after three weeks of gains, while miner Glencore Xstrata also fell on expectations of a write-down on its assets. The mining index remains down by nearly 14 percent since the start of 2013 due to worries over the impact of signs of an economic slowdown in China, the world's biggest metals consumer. The FTSE 100 raced to a 13-year high of 6,875.62 points in late May but has since slipped back, tracking a fall in global equity markets due to expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve may start to scale back economic stimulus measures next month. The FTSE 100 is still up 10 percent since the start of 2013.
