Afferro surges 10pc as takeover auction heats up Overall, it was another quiet day in the London market with volume less than 15pc of the 90-day daily average, according to Reuters. The FTSE 100 dropped 27.56 points - almost 0.5pc - to 5897.81 following renewed "fiscal cliff" jitters that US politicians may fail to secure an agreement on a new federal budget. But the FTSE 250 bucked the weak market trend, climbing 15.24 points to 12374.97. Some mining stocks were in demand after it emerged China's manufacturing industry unexpectedly expanded in December at the fastest pace in 19 months, boosting optimism that a recovery in the world's second-biggest economy is gaining traction. According to Bloomberg, the final reading of a Purchasing Managers' Index was 51.5 in December. Kazakhmys perked up 1 to 778p while Evraz - in which Chelsea FC-owner Roman Abramovich has a large stake - rose 2 to 258.9p. Elsewhere, New World Resources, an Eastern European coal producer, topped the FTSE 250 index, advancing 21.3 - 6.7pc - to 337.3p. On a less positive tack, Marks and Spencer dipped 3.4 to 382p after Andy Clarke, chief executive of rival Asda, was reported as saying he expects 2013 to be "challenging." The negative sentiment also appeared to weigh on Premier Foods, owner of Hovis bread and Bisto gravy brands. Premier's shares dropped 9¼ to 113p. Turnaround engineering company Melrose was one of the worst performing larger companies, sliding 8.2 to 223½p. Banks had a mixed day: Barclays rose 0.7 to 262.4p but Lloyds Banking Group fell ¾ to 47.9p.