Some gains for FTSE

Financial and mining stocks dominated the blue-chip risers board today as investors displayed a renewed appetite for risk.

Signs that the City has started to put aside some of its worries about eurozone debt meant the FTSE 100 Index climbed 13.4 points to 5231.2, keeping it on course to extend its winning run to a sixth straight session.

The rally benefited from strong manufacturing data in the United States, which boosted Wall Street with a 2% rise for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Commodity-based stocks were lifted by the improved sentiment as Rio Tinto rose 20.5p to 3352p and Kazakhmys cheered 4p to 1197p.

Energy stocks were higher after the price of oil consolidated its position at 77 US dollars a barrel. Royal Dutch Shell set the pace with a gain of 24.5p to 1745.5p and BG Group rose 10.5p to 1123.5p, while BP offset its current difficulties with a gain of 1.7p to 343.65p.

BP's shares were trading in a narrow range ahead of the company's meeting with President Obama in Washington. It is possible that the summit could result in BP placing up to $20bn (€16.3bn) into a special account to deal with damage claims from the Gulf of Mexico spill.

In the financial sector, Royal Bank of Scotland rose 1.2p to 45.4p, Prudential added 7.5p to 567.5p and Standard Life rallied 1.9p to 188.4p.

A quiet session for corporate news was dominated by supermarket Sainsbury's, which posted its weakest growth in five years following a 1.1% rise in like-for-like sales in the 12 weeks to June 12.

The performance had been expected due to falling food price inflation, meaning shares rose 1.8p to 326.2p and rival Tesco lifted 1.65p to 396.15p.

On the fallers board, shares in Severn Trent and United Utilities were down 57p to 1246p and 22p to 537.5p respectively, while mobile satellite firm Inmarsat was again the leading Footsie casualty after a broker downgrade yesterday. Shares were off 38.5p at 741p.

Outside the top flight, shares in engineering and outsourcing firm Mouchel fell by 10p to 147p - a drop of 6% - after it predicted a "difficult" short-term outlook due to the squeeze on public spending.

Plastics manufacturing firm Filtrona led the FTSE 250 Index risers board after it said trading in the first half of its financial year was "materially" ahead of its expectations. Shares jumped 16% or 32.2p to 228.3p.