HOTLINE: Vedanta dropped from FTSE 100 for Royal Mail

Vedanta Resources will fall out of the FTSE 100 index next week, following the earlier demotions of Kazakh miners Kazakhmys and Eurasian Natural Resources Co (ENRC), as miners’ capitalisation suffers from weak commodity prices.

So which recently-listed young upstart has replaced the 50-year-old Indian resources major? Well, it’s the almost 500-year-old Royal Mail.

The UK’s postal service, originally founded in 1516, started trading on the London Stock Exchange on October 15, after the government sold a 60% stake as part of a budget-balancing asset sell-off. Its shares have risen by more than a quarter since listing.

In that time, Vedanta shares have fallen by almost the same amount.

Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Glencore Xstrata are now the only mining companies that remain in the FTSE 100.

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