Mining and banking shares boost FTSE
The leading share index was modestly up in early deals, as mining and banking shares boosted the FTSE 100.
Russian steelmaker Evraz rose 1.77 per cent.
Miner Eurasian Natural Resources was up almost 1.7 per cent in early deals. Last week the Kazakh-focused miner soared more than nine per cent as it reported a jump in ferrochrome output. Precious metals miner Polymetal added 1.05 per cent.
FTSE 250-listed Essar Energy increased 4.4 per cent, as the India-focused oil refiner posted a jump in refining margins this morning.
UK banking shares had a positive showing. Barclays rose 1.05 per cent, RBS was up 0.35 per cent, HSBC added 0.8 per cent and Lloyds Banking Group rallied 2.76 per cent. Standard Chartered was up 1.18 per cent.
Supermarkets were also in positive territory this morning, with Tesco up 0.95 per cent and WM Morrison up 1.12 per cent.
At the other end of the spectrum, oil and engineering shares weighed on the FTSE 100.
Chip maker ARM Holdings was the biggest blue chip faller, down 3.32 per cent.
Temporary power company Aggreko, which rose at the end of last week following an upgrade from HSBC, fell 1.51 per cent this morning. Fellow engineer John Wood Group inched down almost 0.9 per cent.
Explorer Tullow Oil, which is due to report its full-year results on Wednesday, sank 1.1 per cent following a downgrade from Investec.
Outside of the blue chips, software provider Kofax plunged more than 12 per cent, as it reported a fall in income and adjusted earnings over the three months to December.
In Asia, the Nikkei closed down 1.8 per cent while in the US, the Dow Jones closed up 0.35 per cent.