Oil and commodities prop up FTSE 100

The FTSE 100 finished up today, at 5,497.40 on higher oil and commodity prices.

There was not much change from this morning, with miners topping the index. Shares in Antofasta rose 4.74 per cent, while Kazakhmys was up 4.73 per cent and Anglo American climbed by the same.

Insurers fared well, with RSA Insurance rising 4.12 per cent while Standard Chartered was up 3.74 per cent and Friends Provident rose 2.51 per cent.

On the downside, TUI Travel was still in decline after warning it was planning less capacity for next year as it anticipated a fall in demand. Shares in the travel firm fell 2.19 per cent.

Ryan Kneale, market analyst at City bookmaker www.BetsForTraders.com, said "Commodity stocks have been dragging the indices up for months now and if it wasn't for gains in mining and oil stocks today we would be looking at another down day.

"While today's rally is very good news for the markets, the inflationary impact of commodity prices rises is very concerning at this stage."