London close: FTSE 100 rallies to flat finish

The FTSE 100 rallied strongly to close flat after a volatile. Traders were unsure how to react to continuing violence in Libya and indications from Opec that the cartel will lift oil production.The oil price eased, but so did metals, which dealt a blow to the mining sector, particularly precious metal specialists.Randgold Resources and African Barrick were the big fallers in the sector, but even copper miner Antofagasta was under the cosh, despite announcing it is to pay a huge special dividend . Profits last year smashed through the $1bn mark as output rose and prices soared. Net profits last year rose by 58% to $1.05bn, from $668m, on revenues up by 55% at $4.58bn from $2.96bn.Results from global engineering solutions provider Weir Group are likely to result in earnings estimate upgrades from the broking community, according to both Evolution and Panmure Gordon, but with the shares almost double the price they were a year ago it looks like the profit takers have emerged in force. Weir's underlying pre-tax profit rose 58% to £295m from £187m in 2009, on revenue that climbed 18% to £1,635m from £1,390m the year before. Investment house Killik seems to have caught the mood of the market towards the shares. It said it expected to see some upgrades following today's results, but added: "We believe peaking economic lead indicators and the prospect of higher interest rates may cause a rotation away from industrial stocks such as Weir and, as a result, we would look to take profits."Old Mutual has been through the mill this last six months, but strong growth in new business sales, cost cutting and favourable exchange rates pushed profits up by 14% in 2010. The insurer is among the top risers in the FTSE 100.Spirax Sarco's special divi did not match the one-off payment from Antofagasta, but the steam trap and pump maker's shareholders are unlikely to complain as the shares hit a 52-week high. On top of the 25p special dividend the full year dividend for 2010 has been cranked up 19% to 43.0p from 36.1p, as the company announced record sales and profits. BT and Vodafone are going well after a bullish note yesterday from Morgan Stanley. "Telecommunications is our preferred defensive sector," the US broker said "It offers greater potential for a positive growth surprise as well as offering a substantial dividend yield boost over other sectors." Vodafone and BT are both classed as "overweight", with price targets of 225p and 260p respectively.Online betting exchange operator Betfair said its core revenue rose by 6.2% in the third quarter of its financial year from a year earlier. The company is looking to reduce its tax bill by moving its betting exchange licence to Gibraltar."Given the in-line trading and cost savings arising from the move to Gibraltar, we upgrade our recommendation from Hold to Buy," said Panmure Gordon, which has a target price of 1352p.Derivatives broker Tullett Prebon's profit fell last year as it felt the ongoing impact of the mass poaching of its staff by rival BGC in 2009. Pre-tax profits in 2010 stumbled to £141m from £157m on revenues down from £948m to £909m. The US bore the brunt of the decline with operating profits nearly halved.Plant hire group Ashtead expects to beat expectations for the full-year after narrowing third quarter losses and ramping up revenue by 15%. The loss before tax and one-off items dropped to £1.7m in the three months to 31 January, seasonally the most difficult period, from £12m a year ago. Revenue jumped to £221.34m from £187.3m. Bid rumours are pushing up the price of Heritage Oil with Austrian energy company OMV in the frame as a likely bidder, though other gossipmongers suggest UK outfit BG Group would like to get its hands on Heritage's assets. Shares in set-top box maker Pace tumbled after hefty one-off costs cut profits growth to a minimum last year. The BSkyB supplier lifted 2010 revenues by 17.4% to £1.33bn, with organic revenues growing 9.7%. Operating profits rose by 32% to £92m, though pre-tax profits rose only slightly to £71m after one-off costs of £19m relating to its acquisitions last year and the closure of its European free-to-air business.Shares in Nighthawk Energy jumped after the US-focused oil group reported progress at its Jolly Ranch project in Colorado.FTSE 100 - RisersBT Group (BT.A) 191.10p +3.97%Old Mutual (OML) 137.70p +3.30%Inmarsat (ISAT) 607.00p +2.36%Carnival (CCL) 2,625.00p +2.22%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 670.60p +1.99%Prudential (PRU) 714.00p +1.93%Whitbread (WTB) 1,694.00p +1.93%Vodafone Group (VOD) 181.85p +1.76%Wolseley (WOS) 2,154.00p +1.60%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,507.00p +1.56%FTSE 100 - FallersRandgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,480.00p -8.20%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,695.00p -4.72%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 547.50p -3.61%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,406.00p -2.90%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,382.00p -2.68%Hammerson (HMSO) 466.00p -2.24%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,460.00p -2.21%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,955.00p -1.96%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,602.00p -1.90%WPP (WPP) 807.50p -1.88%FTSE 250 - RisersAshtead Group (AHT) 203.20p +8.95%Betfair Group (BET) 955.00p +7.61%Renishaw (RSW) 1,778.00p +5.58%BTG (BGC) 220.80p +4.15%Yule Catto & Co (YULC) 227.70p +3.31%Kier Group (KIE) 1,307.00p +3.24%SDL (SDL) 670.00p +3.08%Exillon Energy (EXI) 453.50p +3.07%DS Smith (SMDS) 210.00p +3.04%Soco International (SIA) 362.50p +2.84%FTSE 250 - FallersPace (PIC) 176.40p -20.00%Supergroup (SGP) 1,397.00p -6.18%AZ Electronic Materials SA (WI) (AZEM) 292.30p -4.16%Laird (LRD) 156.40p -3.81%TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 134.50p -3.79%Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 381.10p -3.52%Enterprise Inns (ETI) 88.10p -3.50%Cookson Group (CKSN) 680.00p -3.00%Sports Direct International (SPD) 180.20p -2.86%Senior (SNR) 139.00p -2.80%