Legal & General Share News (LGEN)

Insurance groups were hit by the news the FCA is planning to look into 30m insurance policies sold between the 1970s and 2000 on the back of concerns that they may have contained 'unfair' terms continue to push insurance companies sharply lower. The policies are reportedly worth 150bn pounds. The news prompted RBC Capital to lower its target price on a number of stocks in the sector, including Resolution (from 400p to 390p), Standard Life (from 450p to 440p), and Aviva (from 500p to 495p). The latter this morning announced that it has agreed to sell US equity management business River Road to Affiliated Managers Group. River Road was bought by Aviva's subsidiary Aviva Investors in 2009. Group Chief Strategy and Development Officer of Aviva Jason Windsor said the disposal is in line with the company's strategy of simplifying its business.Meanwhile, shares in mining stocks delivered a strong performance amid hopes of stimulus measures in China, which would lead to growth in demand for commodities. Glencore Xstrata, Fresnillo, Anglo American and BHP Billiton were all on the rise. Randgold Resources was also a top performer after saying that gold production would top 1m ounces in 2014, compared with the 910,364 ounces produced last year. Investec gave Smith & Nephew a lift after upping its rating on the stock from 'add' to 'buy' and hiking its target price by a third. The broker said that the medical equipment maker is "beginning to look like a growth stock again". Consumer products giant Diageo inched higher after it announced several changes to the organisation of its senior management team, including the promotion of Gilbert Ghostine, who has been President of Asia Pacific since 2009, to President of Diageo India and Greater China, as well as the newly created role of Chief Corporate Development Officer. FTSE 100 - RisersAnglo American (AAL) 1,532.50p +3.06%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 925.50p +2.83%Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) 315.55p +2.75%Fresnillo (FRES) 859.50p +2.63%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,576.00p +2.01%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,256.50p +1.99%G4S (GFS) 237.20p +1.89%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 306.90p +1.66%Rexam (REX) 488.00p +1.62%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,862.00p +1.61%FTSE 100 - FallersResolution Ltd. (RSL) 273.10p -14.39%Aviva (AV.) 446.20p -7.71%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 197.80p -6.87%Prudential (PRU) 1,264.50p -3.84%Standard Life (SL.) 373.00p -3.44%St James's Place (STJ) 821.50p -2.84%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,430.00p -1.72%BT Group (BT.A) 374.30p -1.47%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,411.00p -1.47%Old Mutual (OML) 198.40p -1.39%NR