FTSE in negative territory

The London market closed in negative territory today despite a strong showing from mining and oil stocks.

The FTSE 100 Index closed 4.1 points down at 6636.8 – despite peaking 34.1 points ahead during the day – but held steady above the 6,600 barrier breached late last week.

Heavily-weighted miners secured the top five spots on the risers’ board as firmer metal prices gave the sector an uplift, with Anglo American leading the pack after a broker upgrade with a rise of nearly 4%, or 98p, to 2973p.

Kazakhmys, up 39p to 1236p, and Xstrata – ahead 78p to 2790p – followed as copper prices rebounded from an eight-week low seen last week.

Fellow miner Lonmin also advanced, ahead 101p at 3945p, while BHP Billiton cheered 24p to 1222p.

Gas producer BG Group benefited from takeover speculation, with ExxonMobil said to be interested in the firm. Shares were up 11.5p to 791.5p.

Oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell also rose on the back of merger and acquisition rumour, with talk of a possible tie-up between the two continuing to buoy their share prices, boosted by a broker note from ABN Amro which stated any bid for Shell could see shares hit £30. Shell was ahead 27p at 1903p and BP rose 8p to 590p.

Pubs and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers won back its early gains as enthusiasm over the potential sale of the All Bar One owner’s property assets encouraged investors.

The stock, which started the day leading the Footsie risers, recovered from a mid-session slump to finish 10p ahead at 877.5p as City watchers eyed potential gains from a 50/50 joint venture with property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz.

The news lifted rival pubs chain Punch Taverns – up 19p to 1397p as it benefited from Mitchells & Butlers’ property plans. The group had previously ruled out converting its property portfolio to tax-efficient REIT status.

Other risers included pharmaceuticals firm Shire, which announced approval from US regulators for a new hyperactivity drug, lifting the firm 3p to 1173p.

Retailer Next also started the week on a positive note, thanks to an upgrade from Seymour Pierce, boosting shares by 43p, or 2%, to 2327p.

But drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline led the fallers, down 5% after a study said that Avandia, its diabetes drug, could increase the risk of heart attacks. The shares fell 74p to 1390p.

In the list of share fallers, independent broadcaster ITV suffered as a negative broker note said profits were unlikely to rise much in the next 12 months, sending the stock down 1.3p at 118p.

In the second tier, a recommended 265p a share offer for troubled music group EMI from entrepreneur Guy Hands late in the session sent the stock soaring more than 9% or 23p, to 271p.

The offer overshadowed disappointing results from EMI which saw underlying profits down 61% to £62.7m.

Strong full year results buoyed self-storage firm Big Yellow Group, up 26p at 617p, despite the firm admitting it was highly sensitive to the housing market and the impact of interest rate rises.

The biggest Footsie risers were Anglo American up 98p at 2973p, Kazakhmys ahead 39p at 1236p, Xstrata up 78p at 2790p and Lonmin ahead 81p at 3925p.

The biggest Footsie fallers were GlaxoSmithKline off 74p at 1390p, Sainsbury’s down 10.5p at 545p, Drax off 13.5p at 803p and Pearson down 14.5p at 903.5p.