Holidays hold markets in check

Heating and pluming group Wolseley, leads the benchmark, up 20p to £11.13, while Old Mutual has shed 2p to 118p. On the other end of the board, the mining sector continues to rise with Xstrata, advancing 19p to 995p, leading the pack. Antofagasta has climbed 18p to £11.54, with Anglo American, up 16p to £13.40, and BHP Billiton at 6.50p to 670p. In Tokyo, a government report has revealed unemployment fell to a six year low in Japan, pushing the Nikkei 0.1% higher to 11,276.59, at its close early this morning. Retailer, Aeon added 1.8% to 1,676 yen, while department store Isetan, i...