Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

Shares in Xstrata were higher throughout the day despite Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg saying that the proposed merger of the two companies is "not a must-do deal". Speaking to Dow Jones Newswires, he said: "If we don't do it now, we can do it in the future." Glencore was up after beating profit estimates in the first half, although adjusted EBITDA still slipped 17% year-on-year on the back of falling commodity prices. Mining stocks on the whole were making gains, helped higher on hopes that a stronger Chinese economy would boost the demand for commodities. Kazakhmys, Vedanta, Fresnillo, Anglo American and Polymetal were among the best performers. Banking group Barclays was 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. Meanwhile, utility stocks were less in demand, with National Grid, SSE, Severn Trent and Centrica all heading marginally lower. FTSE 100 - RisersFresnillo (FRES) 1,551.00p +3.82%Vedanta Resources (VED) 956.00p +3.35%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 739.00p +3.14%Anglo American (AAL) 1,972.00p +3.00%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,133.00p +2.53%Polymetal International (POLY) 950.00p +2.48%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 365.70p +2.44%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,501.00p +2.04%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,785.00p +2.00%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,059.00p +1.97%FTSE 100 - FallersAshmore Group (ASHM) 351.40p -1.13%National Grid (NG.) 697.50p -0.43%Centrica (CNA) 325.80p -1.00%SSE (SSE) 1,332.00p -0.75%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 647.50p -0.69%IMI (IMI) 908.00p -0.66%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,735.00p -0.57%Vodafone Group (VOD) 185.80p -0.51%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,464.50p -0.44%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 283.80p -0.42%NR