TalkTalk surges on first-half numbers "The [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation were] good with margin up to 18.7pc, driven by strong gross margin," the broker said, adding that so-called ebitda was about 5pc ahead of expectations. Shares have been relatively firm going into these results but headlines should be taken well. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 fell for a fifth day, dragged down by Vodafone, which disappointed investors with its first-half results. The mobile phone group lost 4.1pc, and the blue-chip index dropped 47 points. Anglo American was also a weight on the FTSE 100, declining 3.3pc after saying its troubled iron ore project in Brazil is unlikely to cost less than $8bn. On the mid-cap index, nickel miner Talvivaara was again on the back-foot, with the shares hurt by continuing problems at its site in eastern Finland. The mine started leaking waste water over a week ago, leading to a suspension of operations at Sotkamo. The shares lost 12pc in early trading today, having dropped 36pc since the beginning of last week. Meanwhile, paper group Mondi was weighed down by market talk of a 19.3m share placing. The FTSE 250 group dipped 3.1pc this morning.