London close: Miners, banks lead the surge

30th Aug 2011 16:32

The FTSE 100 traded higher on Tuesday, following through on this morning's impressive start, as the index attempted to play catch-up after missing out on yesterday's rally due to the Bank Holiday. Royal Bank of Scotland led the risers on the blue chip index after Deutsche Bank upped its rating for the part-nationalised lender from hold to buy, saying that the 34% sell off in August so far has been overdone.Sector peers Lloyds and Barclays were also posting impressive gains.The miners were in demand, pressured higher by surging metals prices, as positive consumer spending data from the US buoyed sentiment for the recovery in the world's largest economy. By 16:14, copper was 1.59% higher at $417.50, gold was 2.22% up at $1.831.40, while silver was gaining 2.28% to $41.53.Lonmin, Vedanta Resources, Anglo American and Eurasian Natural Resources Corp (ENRC) were among the best performers of the day.Furthermore, a pay dispute and strike at the world's third-largest copper mine, the Grasberg mine in Indonesia (owned by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold), was helping the copper price on the back of supply concerns.Gold miner Randgold Resources took a knock early on after its Loulo/Gounkoto complex in Mali suffered in the third quarter after abnormally heavy rainfall. However, shares finished higher, helped by the rising price of the precious metal.Egyptian gold miner Centamin was in demand after pre-tax profits soared to $104.3m, from $32m, on revenues that rose to $167.4m, from $87.2m. Oil rig services group Lamprell was a high riser on the FTSE 250 after reporting a 40% rise in half year net profit and more than doubled revenue.Outsourcing and distribution group Bunzl posted a rise in pre-tax profits in the half year to 30 June as a strong performance overseas helped offset weakness in Britain and Ireland. Shares rose more than 7%.The first set of interim results from sports media group Perform impressed, as revenues rise to £45.1m, up from the £30.7m reported the year before.Margins are on the mend at house builder Bovis Homes, which saw profits more than double in the first half of 2011. Shares rose nearly 5% higher.BC