Metal prices give FTSE small lift

Higher metal prices left Xstrata as the biggest gainer with a rise of 3.18% to £22.41, closely followed by Yell Group which climbed 2.91% to 618.5p on news Verizon Communications is planning to demerge its print and online yellow pages business as a new public company called Idearc. ITV also gained with a rise of 2.7% to 104.75p, closely followed by AstraZeneca which climbed 2.54% to £35.09, while Prudential added 2.54% to 645.5p on positive broker comment, although fellow insurer Old Mutual dropped 1.3% to 171p. Scottish Power was the biggest drag on the index with a drop of 1.8% to ...