Insurers and mining lifts FTSE

The FTSE 100 index was up 26 points or 0.6% to 4330 within the first hour of trading, while the the FTSE All-Share index climbed 0.6% to 2153 and the FTSE 250 index as up 20.5 points or 0.3% to 5879. All the major mining firms have seen their share value rise this morning, after Xstrata reported its profits are up as the price of copper coal rose fivefold. As a result, Xstrata rose 4p or 0.5% to 762p while BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining firm, gained 6p or 1.2% to 507.5p and Anglo American added 22p or 1.9%to £11.77. Royal & SunAlliance has this morning reported better tha...