London close: Stocks close higher after choppy day

The FTSE 100 finished in the blue having flitted between positive and negative territory for much of the day.Wealth manager Hargreaves Lansdown was the star performer after its results. Assets under administration climbed 41% in the year ended 30 June. The wealth management firm hiked its dividend by nearly 60%. Elsewhere in finance, RBS, Lloyds and Barclays have powered forward, buoyed by rumours that reform of the banking sector will not happen until after the next election.The mining sector dropped as copper, gold and silver prices declined. Fresnillo, Lonmin and Randgold Resources were among the fallers.In the FTSE 250, Charter International was in demand after engineering firm Melrose upped the price it is willing pay for its rival by 18p per share. Charter is valued at £1.43bn at this price. Melrose fell.International recruitment firm Hays jumped after reporting strong growth in profits last year, driven by its overseas interests. Net fees in the year to 30 June rose 21%, or 18% on a like-for-like (LFL) basis, to £672.1m from £557.7m the year before. Its rival Michael Page is a faller though.Train and bus services group Go-Ahead fell after reporting a fall in revenue from its buses around London. Nevertheless, group sales rose 6% as strength in rail and its deregulated bus division (outside London) offset this weakness.Salamander Energy, the FTSE 250 oil and gas firm focused in Asia, disappointed investors on Thursday after announced a sub-commerical oil and gas discovery in Vietnam. The 101-CB-1X exploration well in Black 101-100/04, offshore northern Vietnam, was drilled to a total depth of 1,724m. Results indicated that the tertiary reservoirs found are of good quality but pressure data and seismic mapping showed that the in-place resource volumes are "probably below levels needed for commercial development," the statement said. Shares in Namakwa Diamonds took a dive after it said it announced the departure of its chief executive and other major changes following a strategic review. Nico Kruger has stepped down as chief executive and will be replaced by chief financial officer Richard Collocott. Chairman Hans Smith and board member Dirk van Staden have also stepped down.Investors tucked into shares of condiments producer China Food on Thursday as the company announced a maiden dividend on the back of a better than expected first half figures. The company is to pay an interim dividend of 0.13p - erroneously reported as 0.0013p in the company's regulatory news announcement ("We got too excited," quipped company chairman John McLean to Sharecast). FTSE 100 - RisersHargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 508.50p +17.71%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 26.25p +8.16%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 35.66p +6.16%Barclays (BARC) 180.35p +5.62%G4S (GFS) 270.40p +3.60%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,109.00p +3.16%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,089.00p +2.30%Investec (INVP) 441.70p +2.25%Inmarsat (ISAT) 480.60p +2.15%Kingfisher (KGF) 241.50p +2.11%FTSE 100 - FallersFresnillo (FRES) 2,022.00p -3.71%BP (BP.) 388.50p -3.47%ITV (ITV) 59.70p -2.53%Xstrata (XTA) 1,052.00p -2.50%International Power (IPR) 333.40p -1.94%Lonmin (LMI) 1,290.00p -1.75%British Land Co (BLND) 531.00p -1.48%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,395.00p -1.39%Carnival (CCL) 1,981.00p -1.39%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,076.00p -1.37%FTSE 250 - RisersHays (HAS) 80.55p +6.69%Spectris (SXS) 1,530.00p +6.40%Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 37.60p +6.24%Telecity Group (TCY) 572.50p +4.95%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 201.30p +4.84%Charter International (CHTR) 799.00p +4.72%Home Retail Group (HOME) 133.10p +4.39%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 85.85p +4.38%Pace (PIC) 110.00p +4.27%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 568.50p +4.03%FTSE 250 - FallersSpirit Pub Company (SPRT) 41.00p -5.75%Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,496.00p -5.50%Rank Group (RNK) 131.90p -5.45%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 132.50p -5.36%JKX Oil & Gas (JKX) 177.50p -5.28%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,430.00p -5.08%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 43.47p -4.78%Melrose (MRO) 300.00p -4.40%Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 77.15p -3.86%UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCM) 77.50p -3.73%