Leading shares closed modestly higher today as Wall Street extended its opening advance in tandem with easier crude prices following the latest US inventory data, although ex-dividend factors weighed against UK blue chips, dealers said.
At the close, the FTSE 100 index was 4.5 points firmer at 4,947.4, above the session low of 4,937.4, but below the opening peak of 4,953.6.
All the broader FTSE indices, however, ended in positive territory.
Volume was solid, with 3.1 bln shares changing hands in 232,321 deals.
On Wall Street, by London's close, the DJIA was 60.80 points higher at 10,519.13, while the Nasdaq composite index took on 16.22 points at 2,015.54 bolstered by easier crude oil prices and with semiconductor stocks getting an added boost after upgrades from Merrill Lynch.
Crude futures continued to ease back after setting a record of above 58 usd a barrel on Monday amid concerns about gasoline stocks heading into the summer driving season.
The US Department of Energy reported that crude supplies rose by 2.4 mln barrels in the latest week, to stand at 317.1 mln barrels, near the top of the average range for this time of year.
Gasoline inventories fell by 2.1 million barrels, although they remain above the average range, the DoE said.
Meanwhile crude oil supplies rose 4 mln barrels in the latest week, according to data released by the American Petroleum Institute.
Gasoline inventories rose 0.3 mln barrels in the week, while distillate stocks fell by 0.2 mln barrels.
In London, among the blue chip fallers, ex-dividend factors accounted for many with Pearson, Friends Provident, Alliance & Leicester, and Hanson the biggest casualties.
Apart from ex-dividend factors, Hanson shares were further weighed down by fresh reports that a powerful bloc of insurance companies has dropped its support for a 140 bln stg federal trust fund to pay claims stemming from asbestos lawsuits, according to a letter sent to a top Republican lawmaker.
If the legislation is abandoned, hundreds of companies will be left with continued uncertainty over how much money they owe in asbestos claims.
In reaction, Hanson shares dropped 13-1/2 pence lower to 484-1/2.
Elsewhere on the downside, Yell Group was hit by a broker downgrade today, with JP Morgan cutting its stance to 'neutral' from 'overweight' following the OFT's decision yesterday to refer the directory market to the Competition Commission for review.
Yell shares shed 16-1/2 pence at 406-1/4.
Corus was also a weak spot, down 0-1/2 pence at 54 after Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating to 'underweight' from 'neutral' in a negative sector piece in which the US broker cut its steel sector view to 'cautious' from 'in-line'.
But on the upside, blue chip miners rallied higher today helped by positive comments by Morgan Stanley, as the firm said in a sector note to clients this morning that it believes dollar weakness and robust longer-term prospects for China are leading to a period of stronger commodity pricing.
The broker therefore raised price targets across the board and said its key 'overweights' are BHP Billiton, Xstrata and Vedanta.
Shares in Antofagasta stood out, up 36 pence at 1,255, while Xstrata added 14 pence at 1,009, and RioTinto gained 9 pence at 1,696.
Exel was also a top blue chip performer today, up 12 pence at 897-1/2 amid recurring takeover speculation, spurred by news earlier this week that Deutsche Post, long seen as a potential suitor of the UK-based contract logistics and freight management group, will issue new shares and use them as acquisition currency.
And recruitment firm Hays was also in demand, up 2-1/4 pence at 138-1/2 supported by upbeat trading news from second line peer Michael Page.
The group, Britain's second largest recruitment firm delivered forecast-busting first quarter revenue data.
Panmure Gordon, which has a 'hold' rating on the shares, responded to the "very good" figures by upping its target price by 28 pence to 198.
In reaction, Michael Page shares added 11-3/4 pence at 208.
Elsewhere on the second line, shares in Intermediate Capital were also sharply higher, up 40 pence at 1,110 after the company turned in better than expected full year results.
Merrill Lynch analysts said the figures were "usefully" ahead of their estimates, but noted the group's outlook statement for 2005 was cautious. Merrill retained its 'neutral' rating on the stock.
Meanwhile Anglo-US jeweller Signet Group added 4-1/4 pence at 114-3/4 after reporting a 5 pct increase in full year pretax profit in line with earlier guidance, although it warned UK sales have fallen sharply in the new financial year.
The group said year to date sales on a like-for-like basis, which strips out the impact of new and closed space, are in "low single digits" after taking account of the earlier fall of Easter this year.
Among the mid cap fallers, ex-dividend issues also had an impact, with RAC down 18-1/2 pence at 899-1/2, and Rank Group down 4 pence at 285.
Rank shares were strong performers yesterday on news that the passage of UK gaming bill looks to have been assured by an amendment in the number of proposed 'super-casinos'.