A recovery by mining stocks and a steady session for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ensured the FTSE 100 Index regained its poise today.
The top flight index in London stood at 6096 in the first hour of business, a gain of 14.6 points after closing lower yesterday in the wake of a sharp fall in silver and other commodity prices.
Miners led the rally with Kazakhmys up 31p at 1219p, Xstrata ahead 41p at 2037p and Anglo American 24p stronger at 2410p.
Among other risers, British Airways continued to strengthen following news of its plans to slash fares in the short-haul market.
The stock lifted 4.75p to 345p.
On a quiet day for corporate news, media and advertising group WPP gave back some of its recent strength with a drop of 16.5p to 690p.
Analysts described first quarter sales figures from the group as strong but said there was no material news to drive upgrades and prevent investors from engaging in a bout of profit-taking today.
Elsewhere, Associated British Ports rose 13p to 744.5p as a report in the Daily Telegraph said the company had drawn a second takeover approach from Goldman Sachs – on this occasion priced at 775p a share.
References: EGi News 21/04/06
