FTSE falters as Chinese export data hit mining shares

By Kit Rees and Sudip Kar-Gupta LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top stock market index fell on Tuesday as big mining companies came under pressure after a report showed exports had fallen in China, the world's biggest consumer of metals. The FTSE 100 index was down 0.9 percent at 6,125.44 points by its close, in line with the broader European market. The FTSE is down nearly 2 percent since the start of 2016 and 14 percent below a record high reached in April 2015, as expectations of a slowdown in C