Market Report: Rio Tinto's mining sector dominance derailed

Wet weather and a train derailment not only hit Rio Tinto’s iron ore production during the first quarter of the year but also took a chunk out of mining sector shares.

The FTSE 100 giant has been hoping to increase its dominance of a market beset by falling prices by lowering costs and increasing output. It increased production by 12 per cent to 74.7 million tonnes in the period ending 31 March, although this was 8 million tonnes lower than analysts had predicted, due in part to a cyclone and train derailment in Australia.

Having been near the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard on Monday, its shares fell 62p to 2,812p. Fellow miners Anglo American and BHP Billiton also fell, by 21p to 1,017p and 18.5p to 1,463p.

Overall, the FTSE 100 rose for a second-consecutive day, climbing 10.8 points to 7,062.93, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was also up 109.08 points at 17,172.55.

Traders’ phones were ringing off the hook as microchip designer Arm Holdings proved once again that tech firms can thrive outside Silicon Valley. Shares in the Cambridge company soared 45p to 1,195p after the royalties it gets from Apple and Samsung rose 28 per cent to $184.7m (£124.2m) during the first quarter of the year. Arm has benefited from rising smartphone sales across the globe as people upgrade to 4G devices.

Intercontinental Hotels was among the big risers again, with rumours continuing to circulate that it is being eyed up by a mystery US suitor. Its shares rose 94p to 2,880p.

BP, which has been heavily fined over the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster five years ago, fell 3.4p to 480p despite reports the company is readying its defences against a takeover following Shell’s £47bn tie-up with BG Group.

According to Bloomberg, BP executives are concerned the company is vulnerable. It said they have been working with corporate adviser Morgan Stanley to sharpen up defence strategies to prevent it being snapped up on the cheap. Exxon Mobil and Chevron are seen as potential predators.

On the FTSE 250, overseas doorstep lender International Personal Finance rose 26p to 501p after Polish regulators gave it all the all-clear following an inquiry into its fees.