Miners dig in on solid news

MINING companies offset persisting fears over European debt levels in London yesterday, pulling the FTSE 100 above the 5,100 mark.

Solid commodity prices in recent days and bullish comments from Xstrata and Randgold Resources on Monday have sent investors back to mining companies.

All of the top four risers in the FTSE 100 were miners, with Xstrata up 44.7p to 1028.5p, Antofagasta up 34p at 865p, Rio Tinto up 114.5p at 3180p and Fresnillo up 24p at 729p.

But Randgold, which topped the sector on Monday, eased 17p to 4463p.

The London market clung to gains in another choppy session yesterday as hopes of a European Union rescue package for the debt-laden Greek economy grew.

Banking shares rose after budget cuts were announced by the Greek government. However, insurance companies were again lower on fears over their exposure to sovereign debt.

The FTSE 100 index eventually closed up 19.5 points at 5,111.8, as Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above the 10,000 mark yesterday, having closed at its lowest level since November on Monday night.

Aviva was the worst performer on the UK index, down 11.2p at 344.5p on concerns about the risk of a European country defaulting on its debt.

Despite assurances that the European Union will not allow countries such as Greece to collapse, there are wider fears, with ratings agency Fitch repeating that the UK still faces the risk of a sovereign debt downgrade.

Insurer Legal & General also fell, down 1.3 per cent to 70.15p, while consolidation vehicle Resolution fell 2p to 75p.

Perth-based Scottish & Southern Energy was another leading faller, down 22p to 1,143p, while brewer SABMiller dropped 30p to 1669p.

There was little in the way of corporate news to deflect attention from economic worries.

Thomson and First Choice owner TUI Travel edged 0.1p higher at 258p after it reported a 9 per cent rise in average selling prices and predicted that it may be over the worst in terms of market conditions. It posted a wider first quarter loss but said there had been a significant improvement in profitability in the current quarter.

Rival Thomas Cook, due to post a trading update tomorrow, climbed 3.8p to 229.3p.

Glasgow-based Aggreko, the temporary power provider, climbed 13p to 895p after announcing contracts in Panama and Oman. The newest member of the blue-chip index said the contracts would be worth around $75 million (about 48m).

Property firms featured on the Footsie risers' board after a well-received third-quarter update from British Land, which rose 8.2p to 446.3p.

The company revealed an 8.2 per cent rise in property values in the quarter and said footfall in its retail parks and Meadowhall shopping centre near Sheffield rose by more than the national average at 5 per cent.

Land Securities followed suit, with a 12.5p rise to 634.5p, while Segro cheered 1.6p to 302.3p.

One of the biggest gains in the FTSE 250 index was posted by property website Rightmove after it raised profit expectations for 2010 and said it achieved a substantial increase in average spend per advertiser. Shares jumped 40p to 565p.

Among the small caps, Wolfson Microelectronics leapt 14.9 per cent to 137.25p despite falling to its first full-year loss since before its 2003 flotation. Cost-cutting meant the Edinburgh-based company still generated cash in 2009, and analysts were impressed by the company's resurgent engineering output.