Britain's FTSE 100 edged lower on Monday, with weakness in miners and retailers at the start of the first full week of 2014 offsetting a rally in RSA Insurance on expectations it will avoid further writedowns, Reuters reported. RSA rose 5.5 percent after the Sunday Telegraph reported that a probe into its Irish business was expected to conclude that accounting problems there were an isolated incident, and that no further writedowns will be needed. Results from the probe by PWC are due on Jan. 9. However, after the broader FTSE 100 was down 4.76 points or 0.07 percent at 6,725.91 points by 0848 GMT, with weakness in retailers and miners getting the upper hand after a jittery start to the session. Miners were hit by fresh signs of economic weakness in top metals consumer China. Surveys showed growth in the Chinese service sector activity slowing in December, mirroring the trend seen in manufacturing. Randgold Resources fell 1.8 percent, while heavyweight Rio Tinto dropped 1.1 percent. Retailers also weighed on the FTSE 100, with Marks & Spencer down 1.8 percent to 435.98 pence on concerns that a trading update later this week may reveal weak Christmas sales.
