London close: Miners keep Footsie in the blue

Were it not for the strength of miners today Footsie would undoubtedly have ended in the red, as many share prices experienced a late swoon.Miners were wanted on expectations that the US dollar will suffer a relapse after the G20 agreement over the week-end that should, if adhered to, bring an end to so-called currency wars.A weaker dollar usually boosts demand for minerals, which are typically quoted in the US currency, and that has prompted buying interest in the likes of Antofagasta, Kazakhmys,Xstrata and Rio Tinto.News that luxury goods firm LVMH has taken a 14.2% stake in expensive handbag maker Hermes encouraged investors to take another look at British luxury goods outfit Burberry.In contrast, banks proved a drag on the market, none more so than Lloyds, which has seen its price target cut by Credit Suisse from 87p to 79p. Well respected Credit Suisse banking analyst Jonathan Pierce thinks that falling property prices could prompt larger than expected write-downs.Fellow part-nationalised bank Royal Bank of Scotland fell in sympathy.Pearson was another stock on the slide despite an upbeat trading statement. It has raised full-year earnings forecasts again after all parts of the publishing and education group continued to "perform strongly" in the third quarter, but the shares head south. The firm is trading ahead of previous guidance and now expects full year adjusted earnings per share to be about 10% higher than 2009's 65.4p.BG has seen the run of successful drills on the Tupi prospect in the Santos Basin, offshore Brazil, rise to nine with the latest well hitting light oil.BP is selling four mature producing deepwater oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico for $650m (£413m) in cash just seven months after agreeing to buy them as part of a wider $7bn deal with Devon Energy. Centrica has effectively shelved its £1.5bn plan to build two gas storage facilities in the North Sea and Irish Sea unless the Government finds a way to subsidise the proposal, the Telegraph reports.London Stock Exchange, which three years ago saw off the unwanted attentions of US bourse operator NASDAQ, is the subject of bid speculation again. The Singapore Stock Exchange has unveiled an $8.3bn bid for the Australian Stock Exchange, suggesting that a new round of consolidation among stock market operators could be underway.Software company Micro Focus, however, saw bid frenzy die down a bit today. On Friday its share price rose on suggestions that computing giant IBM is eyeing it up, but profit takers have moved in today.British Land has struck a deal with Oxford Properties, the real-estate arm of Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (Omers) pension fund, to build the Leadenhall Building in the City of London.Hotel giant Intercontinental Hotels' US revenues have picked up strongly in the past three months, driven by a revamping of its Holiday Inn chain and more business travellers. Revenue per room (or revpar) in its Americas division sped up through the third quarter to 6.7%.Engineer IMI is buying Zimmermann & Jansen, a German severe service valves and related flow control products firm, for an enterprise value of €135m.Household and personal care products maker McBride said it continues to see growth despite intense competition and is trading in line with company expectations.Construction industry consultancy Driver said it is trading broadly in line with company expectations despite an increasingly challenging UK construction market. The shares rose after the company said its international business has a strong pipeline of secured work, with levels for the year to 2011 already similar to those achieved in the current year.Shares in Regal Petroleum perked up on the news that Timis Trust, which is associated with former Regal boss Frank Timis, has cut its stake to 2.3%.FTSE 100 - RisersAntofagasta (ANTO) 1,321.00p +4.10%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,380.00p +3.53%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,026.00p +3.22%Wolseley (WOS) 1,703.00p +3.15%Xstrata (XTA) 1,324.00p +2.68%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,208.00p +2.53%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,252.50p +2.43%Anglo American (AAL) 2,982.00p +2.26%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 925.50p +2.04%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 578.00p +2.03%FTSE 100 - FallersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 68.00p -5.36%Pearson (PSON) 947.50p -2.92%Invensys (ISYS) 311.60p -2.75%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,806.00p -1.77%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 45.40p -1.69%Prudential (PRU) 632.00p -1.40%Cairn Energy (CNE) 412.00p -1.34%BAE Systems (BA.) 354.20p -1.17%Standard Life (SL.) 227.00p -1.09%Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) 1,117.00p -0.98%FTSE 250 - RisersEuromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 656.00p +5.98%Ocado Group (OCDO) 145.20p +5.83%Fidessa Group (FDSA) 1,722.00p +5.64%London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 740.00p +4.96%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 538.00p +4.47%FTSE 250 - FallersJD Sports Fashion (JD.) 800.00p -3.61%Hansen Transmissions International NV (HSN) 40.00p -3.38%CPP Group (CPP) 237.00p -3.27%Micro Focus International Plc (MCRO) 399.20p -2.99%