FTSE up slightly
The FTSE 100 Index limped into the black today as a better than expected start on Wall Street helped the London market claw back early losses.
Investors, spooked by a sell off in Asia, were reassured by slim losses across the Atlantic.
The Footsie closed up 3.9 points at 4689.7 despite news that Bank of England Governor Mervyn King wanted to expand the quantitative easing programme by even more than the £50bn (€58bn) agreed.
The pound slumped following the minutes of the Bank's August meeting.
However, activity in the US helped steady investor nerves as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell a less than predicted 0.17%.
And oil prices jumped above US$70 a barrel after a huge draw of crude oil from US stockpiles took traders by surprise.
Miners surged to the top of the top flight in a second day of gains for the sector.
Eurasian Natural Resources led the risers up 6% - or 48.5p at 825.5p - followed by Fresnillo, which added 33p to 603p and Xstrata up 13.5p at 771.5p.
In a quiet trading day Lloyds Banking Group jumped 2% amid news it is reviewing its closure plans for the Cheltenham and Gloucester branch network.
However, other banks were among those on the fallers board. HSBC was down 13p at 643p, while Standard Chartered was off 17p at 1373p and Barclays fell 1.55p to 345p.
British Land suffered a more than 2% drop - down 11.6p to 471.4p - as investors took profits in the wake of fading takeover speculation and after the property company published first quarter results. Hammerson was off 3.2p at 389.9p.
A number of stocks turning ex-dividend, meaning new investors will not be able to take part in the upcoming dividend payment, put pressure on the top tier.
Scottish & Southern Energy was one of those now ex-dividend, which saw it lead the declines with a 5% drop, down 58p to 1076p.
Other utility stocks benefited from the risk-averse session, as National Grid climbed 8p to 576p and United Utilities lifted 5.5p to 437.5p.
Outside the top flight, there was some interest in the gaming sector after Sony slashed the price of its PlayStation 3 games console in an attempt to drive up sales.
Broker Singer said the move should be positive for UK video games retailers such as HMV and Game Group by boosting turnover in the run up to Christmas. Game shares rose 2%, or 2.4p to 158.5p, although HMV was virtually flat at 121.4p.
Elsewhere, airports ground handling and news distribution group John Menzies posted a 24% rise after revealing it expected a boost to revenues worth £180m (€209m) following new contract wins. With half-year profits ahead of expectations, shares climbed 56.75p to 291p.
The biggest Footsie risers were Eurasian Natural Resources up 48.5p at 825.5p, Fresnillo up 33p at 603p, Serco up Group up 10.3p at 438p and Lloyds Banking Group up 1.96p at 98.72p.
The biggest Footsie fallers were Scottish & Southern down 58p at 1076p, Man Group down 9.7p at 250p, Icap off 12.9p at 428.6p and Shire down 26p at 1011p.
