(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) Forgive me for the footballing analogy but it really was a game of two halves for Footsie Thursday.
Having been sharply lower as the City was taking midday sustenance the UK benchmark closed up over 110 points to the good or 1.73% at 6498.
The familiar mining giants were storming ahead and adding support after yesterday's losses as copper recovered and the gold price surged.
() gained 1.35% while () added 4.9% and () gained 4.78%.
The day belonged to gold giant Randgold () however which saw shares add 6.36% (the biggest rise on Footsie) as Swiss broker UBS said gold miners were well placed in the current environment of weak forex and oil.
Gold flew above US$1250 as the Swiss national bank today stunned currency and stock markets by cutting the franc’s peg to the euro.
The move to get rid of the 1.20 cap sent the Swiss currency up 30% against the euro while other currencies also fell sharply against the franc.
There was much speculation about what it all meant inclduing that it may herald that the ECB may start a programme of quantitative easing (QE) next week.
It was this idea that gave rise to the FTSE100 rally late in the day.
The biggest laggard was DIY chain owner () down 3.22%.
Elsewhere Argos and Homebase owner Home Retail () has taken a battering - down over 6% - after a disappointing update on Christmas trading.
() notched up a 3.69% gain as its Primark stores continued to have their finger on the pulse of the cost-conscious British consumer; unfortunately a strong performance by the cut-price clothing chain was offset by continued tough times in its sugar divisions where prices continue to slump.
FTSE 100 oiler Tullow () also nudged up almost 1% despite today writing off US$2.3bn from the value of exploration work and some of its assets.
The group which is primarily an African business put its UK and North Sea headcount under review this week as well.
() added 2.73% after it unveiled cuts to hundreds of North Sea oil jobs amid collapsing crude prices.
() formerly African Consolidated soared over 17%. On December 10 last year the firm said it had raised £1.59mln via a share placing which will help fund the development of opportunities in Romania.
Also up was TyraTech () which today announced a new chief financial officer (CFO) to replace Daniel Williams who is retiring.
Vince Morgus takes over as CFO and treasurer with immediate effect. Iodine specialist () also gained over 10% on the day.
Earlier this week it revealed crystalline iodine production was up 90% last year and predicted 2015 would be “exceptional".
“A stronger balance sheet improves our negotiating position in joint venture and acquisition discussions."
On the flip side shares in gold explorer () slid as it said it had raised £600000 though a discounted placing at 0.3p.
Mark Jones chief executive said despite the discount he was delighted to have raised the money in difficult market conditions for the natural resources sector.
Shares in Gulf Keystone Petroleum () and () nudged higher as broker Cantor named them as ’top picks’ for the first half of 2015.
Deltex Medical () shares gained over 10% as it signed its seventh US hospital on a trainer contract for its oesophageal Doppler monitoring systems.
() was another riser - up 11.63% - as it appointed Malaysian group Modipalm to build its new kernel crushing plant (KCP) at Ayenouan in the Ivory Coast.
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