UK shares reversed yesterday's declines to rise for the ninth day in ten as investors bet that the latest US jobless figures would show a decline in unemployment in the world's largest economy.
The FTSE 100 rose by 24.4 points, or 0.4%, to 6027.3 ahead of the release of the jobless figures later today, following a decline yesterday as investors reacted to a downgrade to Portugal's credit rating by Moody's after the markets closed on Tuesday.
Man Group was among the FTSE 100's biggest risers, jumping by 3.5% to 255.3p after the hedge fund cheered its shareholders by announcing it had seen an influx of client cash, which added $3.7bn to its coffers in the second quarter.
Elsewhere, the miners were back in favour after seeing their shares hit on Wednesday as China said it would raise interest rates – a move which would reduce demand for metals and other commodities. However, as supply disruptions in Indonesia and Chile pushed copper to a two-month high, shares in Glencore, Xstrata, Rio Tinto, Antofagasta and Anglo American all rose by between 1.5% and 1.8%.
Among the fallers, property investment trust Hammerson tumbled by nearly 5% as its third biggest shareholder sold its entire 85.6m-share stake in the group.
BSkyB's shares fell by 1.2% as investors speculated that the probe into phone hacking at News of the World may delay approval for parent company News Corporation's takeover of the whole of the broadcaster.
