FTSE 100 jumps on mining gains
The blue chip index consolidated gains in Asia and the US this morning, as once again miners headed up the morning leaderboard on improved copper prices.
Essar Energy and Ruspetro rose 4.15 per cent and 3.85 per cent respectively.
Heavyweight miners Vedanta and Bumi added 3.42 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively.
Elsewhere, Abu Dhabi-based healthcare provider NMC Health and tool hire firm Speedy were early risers, rising 4.16 per cent and 3.54 per cent.
Imagination Technologies, which designs the chips used by Apple, rose 2.25 per cent, boosted by the US technology giant’s latest iPhone release this morning.
Housebuilders were clustered in the fallers this morning.
Industrial landlord A&J Mucklow fell 4.21 per cent. At the start of September it was left reeling by falling profits thanks to declining property values.
Metric Property and Development Securities fell by 2.66 per cent and 1.84 per cent respectively.
Elsewhere, home shopping group Findel fell 3.2 per cent, while newspaper publisher Mecom dropped 2.74 per cent. Earlier this month it was downgraded by JP Morgan Chase to a “neutral” rating.
Sportingbet slipped 2.44 per cent in early trade, losing the share price gains from earlier this week as bookmaker William Hill announced it was considering a takeover bid.
JD Sports declined 2.26 per cent.
UK banks made a mixed start to Friday’s session. HSBC rose 0.09 per cent, Barclays rose 0.7 per cent, RBS added 1.12 per cent, while Lloyds Banking Group fell 1.19 per cent.
In Asia, the Nikkei closed 0.25 per cent up while in the US, the Dow Jones closed 0.14 per cent up.