Blue-chips run out of steam in lacklustre session

MINING groups dug the FTSE 100 Index out of a hole yesterday as London's blue-chips ran out of steam in a largely subdued end to the week.

Investors snapped up the likes of Xstrata, BHP Billiton and Anglo American as speculative buys had given recent signs of a recovering US economy.

The gains helped compensate for weaker telecoms stocks and picked the Footsie off the floor after it lost 55 points trading.

But there was little else to encourage cash into the City with US markets shut for half-a-day after Thursday's Thanksgiving celebrations.

And with leisure stocks suffering a hangover caused by a profits warning from JD Wetherspoon, the Footsie still closed down 16 points at 4169.4. The index briefly broke through the 4200 barrier in the first hour before falling back and yesterday's drop means it lost 5.8 points over the week.

Peter Cogliatti, trader at Williams de Broe, said investors had moved to the sidelines yesterday due to a lack of 'fizz' in the market.

He added: "Rather like the England cricket team in Australia, it all started quite promisingly before collapsing."

Of the risers, Xstrata surged 6%, or 36.5p to 628.5p, while BHP Billiton rose 14.75p to 341p and Anglo American climbed 30.5p to 905p.

But on the downside mobile phone giant Vodafone lost 2.75p to 122p as profit takers cashed in on its 30% jump over the last two months.