Precious metals miner Lonmin was the day's highest climber, up 3.2%; with Rio Tinto 2.6% higher, Vedanta adding 2.5% and Kazakhmys up 2.3%.
Banks however, performed less well, with Barclays alone in positive territory, up 0.5%. Lloyds lost 2.1%, RBS fell 2% and HSBC was 0.5% lower.
And energy stocks were hit by a slip in the price of oil; BP lost 0.2%, Royal Dutch Shell 0.4% and BG Group 0.8%. Heaviest faller of the day was Cairn Energy, down 2.6%
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Europe
In Europe, the Paris CAC 40 rose 20 points to 3,796; and the German Xetra Dax was five points higher at 5,782.
US
In the US, the Dow Jones fell 0.1% to 10,460; the S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 1,109; and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.6% to 2,188.
Asia
In Japan, markets made good gains as the yen weakened. The Nikkei 225 rose 3.8% to close at 9,977; while the broader Topix index added 3.4% to 880. In China, the Shanghai Composite index and the CSI 300 both lost 0.2% to 3,264 and 3,590 respectively.
Commodities
Brent spot was trading at $78.26 early today, and in New York, crude oil was at $77.39. Spot gold was trading at $1,221 an ounce, silver was at $19.25 and platinum was at $1,499
Currencies
In the forex markets this morning, sterling was trading against the US dollar at 1.6681 and against the euro at 1.103. The dollar was trading at 0.6615 against the euro and 87.77 against the Japanese yen.
UK news
And today, Europe's biggest home improvements retailer Kingfisher, owner of DIY chain B&Q, reported a rise in third-quarter profits of 28% to £227m. Analysts had predicted a figure of between £204m and £225m. Total sales were up 5.6% and like for like sales were up 0.8%. 80% of the group's profit is earned overseas.
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Spring Statement: what could Rachel Reeves say about pensions?The chancellor will deliver her Spring Statement on 26 March. We look at whether there will be any announcements on pensions that could affect savers or retirees
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Rightmove: Asking prices up again in March as buyers undeterred by looming stamp duty hikesAverage asking prices are up by 1.1% month-on-month and have sustained a 1% growth year-on-year
