London close: US jobs data fuels rally

UK equities finished near their highest levels on the day after better-than-expected jobs data in the US gave a boost to markets this side of the Atlantic. The Footsie finished over 1% higher, despite falling into the red before midday, as investors continue to keep an eye on ongoing developments in the Eurozone.JOBS REPORT SPURS BUYING, EYES ON FEDA report by Automatic Data Processing (ADP) saw the Footsie rally in the afternoon, as US benchmarks roared higher after the mass sell-off yesterday. ADP showed that 110,000 workers were added to private-sector payrolls last month, beating forecasts of a 100,000 rise. ADP also increased its September estimate from +91,000 to +137,000. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve concluded its two-day meeting this afternoon and revealed (by the close of trade in London) that it would keep its interest rates steady. However, according to breaking reports, the Federal Open Market Committee did highlight "significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets". Investors will have the evening to digest the comments before the trading session begins again tomorrow morning.Elsewhere, the decision to hold a referendum on Greece's latest bail-out took the markets by surprise yesterday. Prime minister George Papandreou is to meet with French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Cannes this afternoon ahead of tomorrow's G-20 summit. According to a report in French daily Le Monde, Europe is not willing to renegotiate the conditions of the second bailout for Greece and plans on blocking the €8 billion tranche that was liberated last week. The Greek government must ratify its intention of satisfying the required adjustments, according to sources consulted by the French newspaperRANDGOLD LEADS MINERS HIGHER In London, the mining sector was performing well on Wednesday, with constituents making average gains of 3.37%. Africa-focused gold miner Randgold Resources surged higher after profits for the third quarter jumped by 336% on last year to $122.9m, helped by the sale of 31,646 ounces of previously held gold on hand at Tongon. Nevertheless, after excluding this, profits were still up 29% compared with the second quarter. Fresnillo, ENRC, Antofagasta, Kazakhmys, Lonmin and Xstrata were all performing well also, as metals prices rose higher. Next, the fashion retailer, continued to rise after delivering what Prime Markets called an "exceptional performance" in the third quarter. The group saw a 3.3% increase in group sales in the third quarter compared to the same period of 2010. "We remain confident that we will see no further increase in selling prices in the first half of the year. Early indications are that this trend will continue into the second half of 2012," the company said. Meanwhile, Lloyds continued to faller lower after announcing that its chief executive officer, Antonio Horta-Osorio, is taking a leave of absence for health reasons, according to the Financial Times. The board is set to discuss interim measures later today. Inmarsat, the satellite communications firm, jumped after seeing revenues rise 17.9% in the third quarter compared to the same period of 2010. Logica took a tumble on the FTSE 250 after the IT services provider cut its operating margin guidance for the full year. The firm said, "Achieving better levels of utilisation in the Benelux before the year end will remain a challenge and progress in Sweden has been slower than expected. While we anticipate further progress in these areas through the fourth quarter, we are also seeing pockets of market softness." BCFTSE 100 - RisersFresnillo (FRES) 1,783.00p +7.67%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,235.00p +7.42%Next (NXT) 2,723.00p +6.49%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,345.00p +5.66%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 657.00p +5.63%Wolseley (WOS) 1,835.00p +5.40%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,174.00p +5.39%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 906.00p +5.17%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 107.50p +4.78%Old Mutual (OML) 109.70p +4.68%FTSE 100 - FallersLloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 29.20p -4.43%ICAP (IAP) 374.30p -3.43%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,230.00p -1.98%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,355.50p -1.67%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 325.90p -1.66%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,421.00p -1.22%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,942.00p -0.92%BAE Systems (BA.) 269.00p -0.88%Diageo (DGE) 1,286.00p -0.85%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 553.50p -0.81%