FTSE rises early on Wednesday
The FTSE 100 share index was up early on Wednesday. By 8:39am the index had risen 24.5 points to 6,059.2 (up 0.4 per cent).
FTSE gains as metals spur minersMining companies did well with Anglo American, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys, Lonmin, Rio Tinto and Xstrata all rising 0.9-3.3 per cent each.
Oil companies also made early gains thanks to high oil prices, with BP up 0.5 per cent, BG Group up 0.7 per cent and Royal Dutch Shell up 1.0 per cent.
GlaxoSmithKline performed well, advancing 1.4 per cent after announcing a $710 deal to takeover Sirtris Pharmaceuticals. Consumer lender Cattles also rose 7.5 per cent following news of a £200 million rights issue.
Banks were again among the early losers, with Alliance && Leicester down 7.7 per cent, Barclays down 2.2 per cent, HBOS down 1.9 per cent and Royal Bank of Scotland falling 2.8 per cent.
Other companies to fall early were cruise company Carnival, retailer Tesco and energy company Centrica.
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- 2 Brown hopes Bank can cut interest rates further
- 3 Costly living could kill Europe's consumer revival
- 4 Study: Employers see drink as No. 1 threat to employee wellbeing
- 5 Investors get much of oil firms' cash windfall
- 6 Russia foreign investors unfazed by rows with West
- 7 Putin in control as Russia names cabinet
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