FTSE 100 up 0.59%

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.59 per cent today, holding on to the two per cent gains from Tuesday.

The index ended the day up 32.30 points to 5,486.60.

Platinum producer Lonmin really took the biscuit however, rising 46.57 per cent after miner Xstrata launched a takeover bid, which the firm vehemently rejected.

Fellow platinum producer Johnson Matthey was buoyed by the news and rose 6.89 per cent, while miners Eurasian and Antofagasta gained 6.32 per cent and 5.38 per cent respectively, reversing losses recorded earlier in the week.

Energy services company John Wood Group was up 6.26 per cent.

Of those stocks falling, South Africa-based insurance giant Old Mutual led the slide dropping 10.71 per cent – after admitting it had to inject $150 million (£76 million) into its US operations.

Fellow insurer Aviva dropped 3.01 per cent.

Property took a hit today with falls for Liberty International (down 7.32 per cent), Land Securities (down 3.41 per cent), and Hammerson (down 2.75 per cent).

ITV dropped 6.26 per cent as it revealed a 28 per cent profit fall after an advertising revenue slump of 20 per cent for September. One-ff charges saw it with a total loss of £1.54 billion.

Anthony Grech, market strategist at IG Index, explained the recent gains have to be put into perspective.

“Although stock market gains over the past couple of days have been impressive, all it has done is push the indices back to the highs seen over the past couple of months,” he said.

“For the FTSE, the 5,500 levels have successfully stopped rallies in their tracks since the beginning of July – and there is nothing at the moment to suggest this one is any different.

“Today saw many traders squaring their books ahead of Thursday’s interest rate announcement – and with no surprises expected here we could well see the market drift lower over the next few days.”