Footsie up 41 points

The FTSE 100 Index made steady gains today as traders in London started the week in buoyant mood.

Catering giant Compass and a string of mining stocks led the charge which was then supported in the afternoon by early progress on Wall Street.

And vague bid speculation surrounding mobile phone giant Vodafone added to the positive sentiment as the FTSE 100 Index rose 40.9 points to 6067 by the close.

Shares in Compass jumped to the top of the blue-chip risers board with gains of 9.25p to 238.75p following its decision to sell travel catering business Select Service Partner, which includes the Upper Crust food chain and Moto motorway service stations.

Investors welcomed the move which will see the company return £500 million from the sale to shareholders over the next 12 to 18 months and make an additional £275 million contribution to its pension plan.

Compass was joined on the leaderboard by a string of miners which continued to benefit from the soaring price of copper which has seen it test record levels, as well as an upgrade from brokers in London.

Among the main winners were Antofagasta – up 76p to 2329p – Anglo American - up 67p to 2405p – and Kazakhmys – 35p higher at 1235p. And Rio Tinto rose 50p to 3115p as it was granted a concession by the government of Guinea to develop a new mine.

Jimmy Yates, trader at CMC Markets, said: “It may have been a rather mixed day for equities in London but news of a disposal by Compass Group and another run of buying amongst mining stocks have been sufficient to lift the Footsie higher through the day’s session.”

Heavyweight oil firms BP and Royal Dutch Shell provided further momentum with gains of 12p to 693.5p and 42p to 1970p respectively.

Meanwhile, Vodafone ticked up half a penny to 126.25p after an unconfirmed report suggested that a group of telecoms companies and private equity firms were mulling a £96 billion bid.

But it was a mixed day for financial after a report said Spain’s largest bank Santander has ruled out Alliance & Leicester as a potential takeover target.

Shares in the bank initially slumped but recovered to stand 13p higher at 1155p as investors bought back into the stock. Alliance shares have risen sharply in recent months amid rumours of interest from Europe.

But Barclays shares fell 4.5p to 696.5p and Lloyds TSB was 3.5p lower at 536.5p.

Elsewhere, Carphone Warehouse was up 6.75p to 313.5p following weekend reports that it was to offer free broadband as part of a bundle with its Talk Talk landline service.

The day’s biggest blue chip risers were Compass up 9.25p to 238.75p, Antofagasta up 76p to 2329p, Kazakhmys 35p higher at 1235p and Anglo American with gains of 67p to 2405p.

The heaviest fallers were ICI down 8.75p to 356.25p, BAE Systems off 7.5p to 428p, Man Group 44p weaker at 2529p and Amvescap 9p down at 539p.