LONDON MARKETS: Mining Stocks Tug At FTSE 100

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The U.K.'s benchmark stock index was little changed on Monday, as mining firms pulled it lower while insurance firms moved mostly higher.

The FTSE 100 index was slightly lower at 6,549.19, after capping its fifth straight weekly loss with a 1.5% loss on Friday.

Miners were among biggest decliners as metals prices were mostly lower. Shares of Fresnillo PLC lost 3.2%, Rio Tinto PLC (RIO) dropped 1.1%, BHP Billiton PLC (BHP) fell 1% and Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLCNF) lost 0.9%.

Also in the resource sector, shares of Tullow Oil PLC fell 2.8% after the oil-exploration company said it has plugged a well in the South Omo block onshore Ethiopia and abandoned it as a dry hole.

On a more upbeat note, shares of Aviva PLC picked up 2.1% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch added the insurance firm to its "Europe 1" list of stock picks, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Admiral Group PLC added 0.5% after the car insurer said it extended its underwriting arrangements with Munich Re AG .

Advertising giant WPP PLC gained 0.5% after saying its 24/7 Media unit acquired Crystal Semantics for an undisclosed sum.

Aberdeen Asset Management PLC traded 0.6% higher after Goldman Sachs confirmed the firm's neutral rating.