FTSE 100 movers: Xstrata rises after agreeing to merger with Glencore

The big news of the day was that the so-called merger of equals between commodities trader Glencore and mining titan Xstrata is back on after the independent directors of the latter agreed to Glencore's terms. Jefferies reiterated its positive stance on both stocks this morning, saying that while they may under-perform after the shareholder votes later this year, the combined 'Glenstrata' entity will be one of its top picks for the long term. Banking stocks were in demand with Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and Barclays benefiting from ratings upgrades from Liberum Capital, which lifted its recommendation on all three to 'buy'. Defence group BAE Systems was wanted after itself and aerospace titan EADS revealed details of its proposed £28bn tie-up. "There comes a time when it is right to seize the moment, and to create something that is even stronger and better. We believe that time is now," the companies' CEOs said in a joint statement. Meanwhile, a defence ministry source has told Reuters that the government would be prepared to use its 'golden share' to veto the proposed 45bn dollar merger between EADS and BAE Systems if the terms were not right for Britain. Astrazeneca is down after having suspended its share repurchase program. Supermarket group Sainsbury was in the red ahead of its second-quarter trading statement on Wednesday.FTSE 100 - RisersAnglo American (AAL) 1,885.00p +3.74%Schroders (SDR) 1,569.00p +3.36%Polymetal International (POLY) 1,114.00p +2.67%Xstrata (XTA) 982.50p +2.61%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 864.50p +2.55%Wolseley (WOS) 2,709.00p +2.54%Croda International (CRDA) 2,486.00p +2.52%Barclays (BARC) 220.10p +2.44%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 39.75p +2.37%BG Group (BG.) 1,279.50p +2.36%FTSE 100 - FallersAstraZeneca (AZN) 2,895.00p -2.03%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 282.80p -0.84%CRH (CRH) 1,182.00p -0.84%Babcock International Group (BAB) 920.50p -0.70%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 346.40p -0.32%Kingfisher (KGF) 263.60p -0.23%Glencore International (GLEN) 342.65p -0.13%Amec (AMEC) 1,147.00p +0.09%GKN (GKN) 215.10p +0.14%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,744.00p +0.15%NR