Mining stocks shore up FTSE

Strong progress by mining stocks and a good session on Wall Street helped London shares build on their recent progress today.

The FTSE 100 Index rose 15.6 to 4867.9 by mid-morning, as it again made moves towards its 30-month closing high.

Miners dominated the Footsie risers board after a positive analyst note lifted the sector and investors geared up for a decent set of results from Rio Tinto on Thursday.

BHP Billiton was the second biggest riser, up 19.5p to 676.5p, followed by Rio advancing 40p to 1690p and Anglo American climbing 28p to 1260p.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added nearly 63 points last night after corporate acquisitions put US investors in a good mood.

The successful completion of the Iraqi elections also reduced the political pressure on Washington and the markets.

Back in London, gases group BOC added 7p to 989p after reporting profits at the top end of expectations.

At the other end of the scale, investment group Amvescap was the biggest Footsie faller – off 8.5p to 339.5p – as investors anticipated lower final profits following a brand revamp.

FTSE 250 stock Virgin Mobile was down 17p to 248p as slower-than-expected growth in customer revenues overshadowed news that it added a record number of new users over the Christmas quarter.

Top flight telecoms were also dragged down, with mmO2 falling 1.75p to 124p and Vodafone weakening a penny to 136p.

In the lower tiers, stockbroker Teather & Greenwood lifted 5p to 73.5p after agreeing to a £43m (€62.1m) takeover by Icelandic bank Landsbanki.

And floor coverings group Carpetright lost 3% – off 32p to 1128p – after reporting a “tough” January sale in the UK and Ireland and saying trading in all its markets had been subdued.