General Blog About Everything

The FTSE 100 was up 18.5 points at 6077 at 11:46 a.m. on Wednesday. Friends
Provident, up 1.9p to 117.8p, was in focus after JP Morgan alerted
investors to the possibility of some M&A activity.

The FTSE 100 was down 88.5 points at 6288 at noon after mining companies, hit
by profit-taking following Monday’s record run, fell by the wayside. The
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation was the worst off, losing
6.51 per cent or 100p to 1435p. BHP Billiton was down 138p at
2059p, Antofagasta was down 38p at 759p, and Rio Tinto
lost 352p to 6726p.

A positive broker report failed to help Anglo American, which
was down 184p at 3496p. Credit Suisse, whose analysts increased their target
price for the stock to 4500p from 3300p, said: “The shares have
significantly underperformed its peers over the last 12 months, and with
such strong earnings momentum we are making this our top pick for the
sector. “

The FTSE 100 was up 12.7 points at 6317.2 at noon with miners and oil
companies leading the market yet again. Kazakhmys, up 96p at 1928, is right
at the top of the leader board, thanks to firmer metals prices and a new
note from Credit Suisse, whose analysts have raised their price target for
the stock to 2700p.