Miners are moving higher after reports from Australia that Rio Tinto may consider a break-up if rival BHP Billiton does not come up with an acceptable offer.
Rio's chairman, Paul Skinner told the Sydney Morning Herald it was not the preferred option but would be considered if it enhanced shareholder value. This was enough to send Rio 154p higher to £59.90. BHP added 56p to £18.46.
The key Friday economic indicator - the US non-farm payroll figures - came in much better than expected and have breathed some life into the market. Wall Street is now around 100 points higher while the FTSE 100 has added 121.4 points to 6208.7.
Ryan Kneale, market analyst at City bookmaker BetsForTraders.com, said: "You could feel the tension today before the US Non-Farm payroll figures were released, as traders tried not to get too exposed. The actual figures were much better than expected and the equities markets, which were already up 1% before the news, stepped up a gear and went into overdrive gaining more than half a per cent in a matter of minutes. This is great news for the market bulls, but essentialy rules out any more rate easing by the Fed in the short term."
