Positive day for FTSE

The London market started the month on a positive note today as stocks in mining and oil companies helped it close above the 6000 threshold.

The spark for the rally came from China as the country agreed a deal to import Australian uranium for its nuclear power stations.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, which have large reserves of uranium, were the main beneficiaries and investors were also attracted by strong metals prices as the FTSE 100 Index closed 59.7 points ahead at 6024.3.

BHP Billiton was the strongest riser in London – up 6% or 67p to 1118.5p – as investors noted that the company owns the Olympic Dam in Australia. The mine contains the world’s largest known uranium reserves and is likely to become a key source of exports to China following today’s agreement.

BHP was tracked by Rio Tinto, which is Australia’s biggest exporter of uranium and rose 131p to 3053p to stand at an all-time high. Kazakhmys added to the strong run achieved following its results last week with shares in the copper miner up another 38.5p to 1116.5p, a gain of 4%.

Oil prices of a barrel remained a worry for the wider market, but the latest rise drove up shares in oil majors. Shares in Cairn Energy lifted 69p or 3% to 2194p, while BP rose 13.5p or 2% to 674.5p and Shell was up 24p or 1% to 1822p.

In the same sector BG Group rose 1% after buoyant demand for liquefied natural gas put the gas exploration company on course for better-than-expected first quarter results. The blue-chip stock continued its recent rally to stand 9p higher at 728.5p.

Northern Rock moved in the opposite direction as a trading update from the mortgage lender prompted investors to take profits, leading to a fall in its shares of 8p to 1176p.

Alliance & Leicester also fell, losing some of its recent bid premium to stand 4p lower at 1240p.

But it was not a sea of red in the sector as Standard Chartered rose 38p to 1470p on weekend reports that Singaporean investment group Temasek had not ruled out a takeover bid after acquiring an 11.5% stake in the emerging markets bank last week. Fellow global bank HSBC also improved with a gain of 10.5p to 975.5p.

Elsewhere, shares in Swallowfield fell 1p to 44.5p after it lost a contract with Marks & Spencer to supply the retailer with cosmetics. Stock in Somerset-based Swallowfield, which also makes toiletries, fell to an all-time low earlier in the day but regained much of its losses to close 2% down.

The biggest Footsie risers were BHP Billiton up 67p at 1118.5p, Rio Tinto, up 131p at 3053p, British Energy Group up 28p at 678p and Xstrata up 72p at 1935p.

The biggest fallers were Cable & Wireless down 2.5p at 106.75p, Hammerson down 21p at 1219p, Rolls Royce down 6.25p at 451.75p and Daily Mail and General Trust down 9p to 685p.