FTSE on course for 6,000

Miners kept the FTSE 100 Index on course for the 6,000 barrier after six of the top flight’s 10 biggest risers came from the sector today.

Brokers eyed buying opportunities among miners following a recent sell-off, while BP gained 2% as the Footsie closed at 5965.1 – a gain of 14.5 points.

Bid speculation also kept traders on their toes after building products firm Hanson and medical devices maker Smith & Nephew took their turn in the spotlight. Hanson rose 10% early on, but faded to less than 1% higher – a gain of 6p to 747p – after talk of a bid from Lafarge began to cool.

Smith & Nephew kept some of its strength during the session, as reports of interest from Bristol Myers-Squibb pushed shares up 2%, or 8p at 536p.

But the driving force of the market came from miners with Antofagasta building on yesterday’s profits record after a boost from the soaring price of copper.

Antofagasta was up 5% or 101p to 2065p, while BHP Billiton gained 37.5p to 980p, Kazakhmys cheered 42p to 986p and Xstrata was 52p higher at 1768p.

And Cairn Energy added to the strong gains seen yesterday following strong results and a plan to part-float its Indian business. Shares were up 55p at 2118p, after touching a new high earlier in the session.

BP benefited from a broker note suggesting it separate its exploration and marketing operations, leading to shares jumping 14p to 665p. In contrast, Royal Dutch Shell stuck close to its opening mark, up 3p at 1853p.

The news was less positive for engineering group Smiths which fell victim to profit-taking as investors focused on falling profits at its aerospace arm as opposed to a strong performance elsewhere in the business. The stock, which has enjoyed a strong run recently, was down 37p at 949.5p.

The decline was only bettered by PartyPoker firm PartyGaming, which eased 7p to 120.5p on a disappointing day for gaming stocks.

Among mid-cap stocks, Comet owner Kesa Electricals backed up last night’s rise of 11% with a gain of almost 2%, or 5p, to 330p after it turned down a £1.72 billion offer from private equity suitors yesterday.

But the London Stock Exchange – which grabbed the headlines earlier in the week as its share price surged 30% following the rejection of a bid from US rival Nasdaq – slipped 5p to 1185p today.

Elsewhere, Game Group fell 5% or 4p to 77.5p after a delay in the launch of the latest Sony PlayStation, which Game will now not get into its shops until November. SCi Entertainment – the owner of Lara Croft creator Eidos – slipped by 9p to 480p.

The biggest Footsie fallers were Antofagasta up 101p at 2065p, Kazakhmys ahead 42p at 986p, Amvescap up 22p at 550p and BHP Billiton ahead 37.5p at 980p.

The biggest fallers were PartyGaming down 7p at 120.5p, Smiths off 37p at 949.5p, Gallaher down 27.5p at 882.5p and Reckitt Benckiser off 56p at 2028p.