London close: Footsie surges through 6,700
London surged through 6,700 as rising commodity prices lifted miners, crude prices boosted oil majors and management change gossip helped Vodafone.
Antofagasta, Xstrata, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Lonmin and Vedanta Resources all raced forward as metal prices rose again.
Oil majors BP, Royal Dutch Shell and BG are also well ahead after US light crude for delivery in November jumped above $82, rising 84 cents on the day. BP's new chief executive Tony Hayward also unveiled his plans to rejuvenate the struggling oil giant. Oil distributor Hunting led the FTSE 250.
Index heavyweight Vodafone was also in demand. Talk that chief executive Arun Sarin may be leaving is fuelling interest in the mobile giant. The company made no comment.
On the downside, software giant Sage was one of the worst performers after it said that following a review of its North American business, the unit's CEO Ron Verni and finance boss Jim Eckstaedt have left with immediate effect. The group also said that it expects full year results to be in line with market consensus as it flagged an 18% hike in core earnings for the period.
Northern Rock ran into profit taking despite news that Citigroup is considering taking a stake.
Housebuilders were also under pressure as the latest RICS survey showed property prices falling at their fastest pace in two years. Persimmon, Barratt and Taylor Wimpey all closed in the red.
Newsagent and stationer WH Smith slumped despite a better than expected 29% rise in full year underlying profit, but says it expects Christmas to be "very competitive".
Recruitment group Hays saw first quarter like-for-like net fees rise by 21% and said it continues to see strong demand across its markets despite increased economic uncertainty.
Theo Fennell said it continues to enjoy strong trading conditions as the upmarket jewellery maker reported first half sales up 20% on the year before, boosting turnover to £12m.
Outsourcing and software solutions provider Innovation Group's full year 2007 results are likely to be in line with forecasts, while its order pipeline has encouraged it to lift expectations for 2008.
Recruitment firm Imprint has parted company with founder and CEO Brian Hamill and said trading in September was well below its expectations.
Medical support services provider Synergy Healthcare is pleased with progress and remains confident in the outlook for the full year, it said in an update Thursday.
Chocolate retailer Thorntons posted a 28.5% jump in first quarter sales, thanks to continued progress in all sales channels and the wet weather in July and early August.
Cookson is to make an agreed bid worth £497m for fellow engineer Foseco on the terms indicated in its bid approach announcement made last week.
Nuclear engineering firm International Nuclear Solutions reconfirmed late Wednesday that delays in certain major projects are likely to affect overall revenues for 2007.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,317.00p +5.80%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 179.50p +4.97%
BG Group (BG.) 883.00p +4.74%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 626.50p +4.68%
Schroders Nv (SDRC) 1,351.00p +4.40%
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BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,880.00p +4.39%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Northern Rock (NRK) 258.00p -5.67%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 290.75p -4.28%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,003.00p -4.02%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 722.00p -3.54%
Sage Group (SGE) 243.25p -3.38%
British Land (BLND) 1,112.00p -3.30%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hunting (HTG) 783.00p +10.28%
Rightmove (RMV) 575.50p +9.51%
Aquarius Platinum (AQP) 1,847.00p +9.42%
QXL Ricardo (QXL) 1,195.00p +8.93%
Randgold Resources (RRS) 1,735.00p +7.43%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 413.00p +7.27%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
WH Smith (SMWH) 393.00p -6.43%
Redrow (RDW) 388.50p -4.31%
PartyGaming (PRTY) 31.00p -3.12%
Bellway (BWY) 1,076.00p -2.89%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 684.00p -2.56%
Savills (SVS) 383.75p -2.17%
