FTSE 100 movers: Miners lead the way

5th Dec 2012 15:16

Mining stocks were performing well today on increasing optimism about China; Vedanta, Kazakhmys, Anglo American and Rio Tinto were all making decent gains. Precious metals giant Polymetal also advanced after saying it was giving $191m dollars back to shareholders by way of a special dividend. Supermarket titan Tesco was a high riser after announcing that it is considering a sale of its loss-making US division, Fresh & Easy. The news came alongside the group's third-quarter trading statement, in which it revealed a better-than-expected performance in the UK grocery division, though non-food sales continue to be weak. Global banking giant HSBC was higher after saying that it is to receive $9.39bn from the sale of its 15.57% stake in Chinese insurance giant Ping An Insurance. Meanwhile, accountancy software group Sage fell after reporting that it had grown revenues slightly over the past year, but said it was keeping a close eye on conditions in Europe, particularly France. Aberdeen Asset Management, SABMiller and Severn Trent were also among the fallers after going ex-dividend. Land Securities declined somewhat after the previous day's strong gains on the back of its announcement that it would spend well over £100m to take control of entertainment firm X-Leisure. FTSE 100 - RisersKazakhmys (KAZ) 741.50p +3.85%Anglo American (AAL) 1,789.50p +3.02%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 278.70p +2.99%Tesco (TSCO) 336.00p +2.86%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,217.00p +2.76%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,092.00p +2.44%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,993.50p +2.15%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 244.50p +1.83%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,654.00p +1.60%ITV (ITV) 102.80p +1.58%FTSE 100 - FallersSage Group (SGE) 299.80p -3.66%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,576.00p -2.29%Land Securities Group (LAND) 803.50p -1.59%British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,266.50p -1.58%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,464.00p -1.48%Kingfisher (KGF) 270.60p -1.20%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 334.10p -1.15%Carnival (CCL) 2,418.00p -1.10%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,278.00p -1.08%SABMiller (SAB) 2,791.50p -1.01%