\n\tFTSE 100 adds 0.1% to around 10,865
\n\tFTSE 250 climbs 0.4% to approximately 24,814
\n\tHousebuilders, industrials and financials lead
\n\tGold and copper ease as precious-metal miners fall
\n\tSeveral AIM and small-cap shares jump more than 12%
<\/p>\n
10.10\u00a0am: FTSE 250 pulls ahead as sector leadership broadens<\/p>\n
The FTSE 100 was up around 10 points at 10,865, having touched 10,886, while the FTSE 250 strengthened 0.4% to approximately 24,814.<\/p>\n
The FTSE SmallCap gained about 0.2%, while the AIM All-Share was broadly flat.<\/p>\n
Industrials remained the strongest blue-chip sector. Melrose led the FTSE 100 with an 8.7% gain, while Rolls-Royce, Halma, Weir Group and IMI also advanced.<\/p>\n
Housebuilders strengthened across both indices. Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Redrow and Berkeley Group rose, while FTSE 250 constituent Vistry jumped 16.7% to 313.4p after reaching 320.6p.<\/p>\n
Retail and financial shares also provided support. Next gained almost 2%, while Legal & General, Aviva, Lloyds, Barclays and Standard Chartered traded higher.<\/p>\n
Mining shares remained mixed as gold fell 0.5% to around US$4,630 an ounce and copper eased 0.2% to US$6.59 per pound. Anglo American gained 0.7%, but Endeavour Mining, Fresnillo, Antofagasta and Hochschild Mining declined.<\/p>\n
Energy stocks were slightly weaker as Brent crude dropped 1.4% to approximately US$90.90. BP and Shell both edged lower.<\/p>\n
Away from the leading indices, small caps Volex, Galileo Resources, Futura Medical, Mothercare and Tungsten West made serious gains during the session.<\/p>\n
Galileo\u2019s 22% rise followed the identification of a potentially substantial copper porphyry system at its Ferber project in Nevada. Tungsten West gained around 16% after securing up to \u00a371 million of government backing for the Hemerdon mine. Mothercare and Futura Medical had no fresh regulatory announcement supporting their moves.<\/p>\n
Petra Diamonds was around 13% higher, although the rise occurred on very thin trading volume.<\/p>\n
Bitcoin traded near US$79,700, up 3.3%, after reaching US$81,104.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t9.10 am: Mining rally fades as London edges higher<\/p>\n
The FTSE 100 gained 13 points to 10,867 after reaching 10,883, while the FTSE 250, FTSE SmallCap and AIM All-Share also edged higher.<\/p>\n
Gold traded around US$4,630 an ounce after approaching US$4,700 earlier. Bullion is up about 13.5% during August and remains on course for its strongest monthly gain since 1999.<\/p>\n
However, yesterday\u2019s mining rally has not continued. Endeavour Mining fell 1.6%, Fresnillo lost around 1% and Antofagasta slipped 0.4%. Anglo American gained 0.4%, while Glencore and Rio Tinto were broadly unchanged.<\/p>\n
Instead, company announcements produced the largest moves. Volex jumped almost 20% <\/a>to around 640p after reporting strong organic growth and forecasting annual profit ahead of expectations.<\/p>\n FTSE 250 housebuilder Vistry climbed about 14%<\/a> following a \u00a3350 million funding award to deliver more than 3,000 affordable homes.<\/p>\n On AIM, Tungsten West gained nearly 14% after securing up to \u00a371 million of National Wealth Fund backing for the Hemerdon tungsten and tin mine.<\/p>\n