FTSE making further progress

Mining firm Xstrata leads the benchmark, adding 24p to 10.51p as copper futures in Shanghai traded near their highest for 12 years. High street retailer Boots is also up 14p to 629.50p, after announcing it is selling its medicine arm. Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance, meanwhile has shed 1p to 81.75p. In Tokyo the Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.5% to 11,874.75 after a drop in oil prices, while machine related stocks boosted the benchmark. Fanuc, the world's largest maker of industrial robots picked up 1.3% to 6,900 yen, with Advantest, a maker of equipment used to test computer mem...