Antofagasta takes FTSE higher

Antofagasta has risen 8p, or 1.9%, to 441p after it said first-half net income surged 78% to $652.6m after prices for the metal rose to a record. ITV has advanced 1p, or 1%, to 105.25p and PartyGaming has climbed 1.5p, or 1.3%, to 115p. On the downside, BP has fallen 0.08% to 605p after a newspaper report suggested it is facing a probe into whether it manipulated crude oil and unleaded petrol markets. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average climbed 127.97 points, or 0.8%, to 15,890.56 points after oil prices dropped and the yen weakened to a record low against the euro. Canon gain...