Headline shares closed firmly higher, although off best levels as a hesitant start on Wall Street hit momentum, with miners providing good support as well as the biggest casualty of the day.  At the close of business, the FTSE100 was up 59.86 points at 5,211.18 with the FTSE250 ahead 140.8 points at 9,801.18 and the FTSE Smallcaps 28.89 points better at 2,780.88. US stocks were just slightly higher in late morning trade, as well-received factory orders data balanced out Eurozone fears. Approaching the close in London, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was ahead 2 points at 10,251, the S&P500 rose 2 points at 1,100 and the Nasdaq Composite added 12 points at 2,293.

LONDON MARKETS

Trade in London was brisk although momentum wavered in the afternoon session following a hesitant start in New York.

Mining stocks were generally higher, but Xstrata Plc (LON:XTA) bucked the trend, down 6.5p at 985.5p after announcing cutbacks on investment in Australia and the shelving of some projects, in the wake of the imposition of a supertax. BHP Billiton (LON:BLT), which has also cut back on investment in Australia, fell 16.5p at 1,839.5p.

Rangold Resources was the biggest blue chip scalp of the day, down 155p at 5,975p, as gold eased to $1,212 an ounce.

Elsewhere in the sector, there were firm gains for ENRC, up 42.5p at 1,031p, followed by Kazakhmys (LON:KAZ) which gained 19p at 1,178p. Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) improved 33p at 3,171p and Anglo American (LON:AAL) rose 13.5p at 2,605p.

Oil producers were back on track as crude ticked towards $74 a barrel. BP (LON:BP.) recovered 2.5p at 432.25p as it continued to try to stem the spill of oil in the Gulf of Mexico, with reports that it may consider selling off Alaskan assets to pay for the clean-up operation. BP (LON:BP.) is already under pressure in the US to suspend dividend payments.

Peer Shell gained 29.5p at 1,773.5p and BG Group (LON:BG.) added 17p at 1,080p, while explorer Tullow Oil Plc (LON:TLW) ticked up 20p at 1,148p after upgrades to buy from Citigroup and Goodbody.

Precious metals processor Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT) jumped 15p at 1,570p after raising its full-year dividend 5% despite a dip in earnings and flat sales.…

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