ENRC was the best of the bunch, gaining 29p at 1,192p, while Fresnillo rose 17.5p at 854p, Xstrata added 15p at 1,185p and Anglo American improved 12p at 2.745p. Gold miner Randgold Resources bucked the trend, down 18p at 4,919p as the precious metal eased below $1,122 an ounce.

British Airways continued to make progress, up 3.4p at 245.9p, on hopes of a last minute deal with the Unite union, also helped by broker Davy raising its target on the stock to 310p from 265p.

Among the pharmaceutical stocks AstraZeneca made further moves higher, up 23.5p at 2,934p, and Shire added 10p at 1,465p, but profit-taking pushed GlaxoSmithKline 4.5p lower at 1,267.5p.

Other notable blue chip gainers included defence contractor BAE Systems, up 8.9p at 385.4p, credit checker Experian, up 11.5p at 653.5p, software house Autonomy, 42p better at 1,839p, and leisure group Whitbread, ahead 33p at 1,552p.

On the downside with blue chips, Cairn Energy was the biggest faller of the day so far, down 5p at 389.1p.

Cigarette makers eased with BAT losing 13p at 2,250.5p and Imperial Tobacco down 4p at 2,044p.

Utility groups were out of favour, with Drax slumping 6.7p at 363.8p, Scottish & Southern Energy off 10p at 1,107p and Centrica 3.9p lower at 294.1p.

Other notable casualties included can maker Rexam, off 1.2p at 292.8p, household goods conglomerate Unilever, down 6p at 1,938p, and Carphone Warehouse, 1.4p lower at 193.6p.

Story provided by Business Financial Newswire