Read our Privacy noticeThe FTSE 100 edged higher on Wednesday, with gains in Next and mining stocks offsetting a drag from lower Asia-focused finance stocks. The FTSE 100 index closed up 8.92 points, 0.1%, at 10,888.30. Earlier this week, data showed the UK manufacturing PMI eased to 51.9 in July from 52.5 in June. Holding the FTSE 100 back were losses in Asia-focused financial stocks, with Prudential, HSBC and Standard Chartered down 6.4%, 4.7% and 1.6% respectively. The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Prudential, down 70p at 1,025p; HSBC, down 74p at 1,510.6p; Autotrader, down 15.2p at 520p; Convatec, down 5.6p at 223.8p; and Vodafone, down 2.5p at 114.4p.