- Miners lead the way higher on Tuesday- Central banks in China and Europe expected to act- Glencore-Xstrata merger at riskHopes of central bank action in Europe and China boosted stocks today with the mining sector benefitting the most from increased risk appetite.Michael Hewson, the senior market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said this afternoon: "Markets continued their slow low volume move higher today on reports that Germany might be persuaded to grant some concessions to Greece. Meanwhile speculation that the ECB [European Central Bank] may well be minded to go against the Bundesbank in capping bond yields has also helped underpin equity markets. "It would appear that the prospect of further central bank intervention, no matter how unlikely, is continuing to drive what capital there is into equities as the preferred asset of choice," he said.The Daily Telegraph confirmed today that ECB technicians are examining plans to cap Spanish and Italian bond yields, among other options, despite the ECB denying those same rumours yesterday.Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China last night ramped up its reverse-repurchase operations, injecting 220bn yuan ($34.6bn) into the financial system. Meanwhile, state-run news agency Xinhua said that China is considering fresh stimulus for the second half of the year. In domestic news, UK public sector net borrowing in July was £600m, compared with a surplus of £2.8bn the year before. Economists had forecast a surplus of £2.2bn. FTSE 100: Glencore, Xstrata gain in spite of merger risksGlencore and Xstrata finished the day in the blue after a slow start despite hopes for a quick and easy merger fading fast. In response to Xstrata's shareholders demanding better a better offer, Glencore's CEO Ivan Glasenberg said that it "is not a must-do deal...it is a deal that we believe makes sense." The comments come after the release of Glencore's first-half results which saw the group report a less-than-expected 17% fall in adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation).Mining peers Fresnillo, Vedanta, Polymetal, ENRC, Anglo American and Antofagasta were making strong gains today on hopes that a stronger Chinese economy would boost the demand for commodities.Banking group Barclays was also a high riser after announcing that it is looking at combining the majority of its operations in Africa with its subsidiary Absa Group, in line with its strategy to operate as 'One Bank' across the continent. Lending peers RBS and Lloyds were also in demand. FTSE 250: Heritage rockets on Genel deal; Lonmin erases gains late onHeritage Oil, an independent upstream exploration and production company, delighted its investors by securing a $294m loan as part of an agreement to sell a 26% interest in the Miran Block in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to Genel. The loan will be provided by Genel to Heritage on completion of the sale, easing worries over future funding. After rising strongly for most of the day, gains for Lonmin were pared late on after the platinum miner revealed that just a third of its 28,000-strong workforce turned up for work today following the violent protests which resulted in the deaths of over 30 workers last week. The firm said that in light of the events and the impact on production, its debt covenants will likely be breached. It is now "reviewing all the options available to strengthen its financial structure, including possible access to the equity capital markets."FTSE 100 - RisersFresnillo (FRES) 1,581.00p +5.82%Vedanta Resources (VED) 966.50p +4.49%Polymetal International (POLY) 967.00p +4.32%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 370.20p +3.70%Anglo American (AAL) 1,983.00p +3.58%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,141.00p +3.26%Barclays (BARC) 197.05p +3.22%Aviva (AV.) 334.10p +2.80%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 735.00p +2.58%Evraz (EVR) 265.80p +2.55%FTSE 100 - FallersMorrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 281.60p -1.19%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 352.00p -0.96%Centrica (CNA) 326.00p -0.94%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,733.00p -0.69%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,375.00p -0.58%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 649.00p -0.46%National Grid (NG.) 697.50p -0.43%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,455.00p -0.41%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,465.50p -0.37%United Utilities Group (UU.) 716.50p -0.35%FTSE 250 - RisersHeritage Oil (HOIL) 205.00p +21.95%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 39.70p +7.79%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 3,080.00p +6.57%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 549.50p +4.57%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 452.00p +4.39%Cape (CIU) 206.00p +4.25%Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 500.00p +4.12%Computacenter (CCC) 383.00p +4.05%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 106.00p +3.92%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 436.00p +3.81%FTSE 250 - FallersJD Sports Fashion (JD.) 657.00p -4.23%NMC Health (NMC) 190.00p -3.94%COLT Group SA (COLT) 122.00p -3.33%Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,290.00p -2.86%Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 184.90p -2.68%Salamander Energy (SMDR) 203.50p -2.58%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 190.90p -1.95%Amlin (AML) 381.90p -1.85%Essar Energy (ESSR) 109.00p -1.62%Premier Farnell (PFL) 191.00p -1.55%BC
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