FTSE pushes through 6,000 as commodities surge

London's leading share index pushed above the 6,000 mark in early morning trading, buoyed by rising commodity prices and corporate profits.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.18% at 6,008.17, following Friday's finish just below 6,000. This follwed a sluggish day of trading on the back of mixed US employment data. Cairn Energy was the best performer this morning, up 2.35%, followed by ARM Holdings up 2.21%. Gold mining firm Randgold Resources was up 1.71%, after posting a pre-tax profit of $136.14m for 2010. Fresnillo followed, rising 1.48%, and then Aviva, climbing 1.38%. Conversely, Resolution was down 1.24%, followed by Standard Life, falling 0.79%, HSBC Holdings, losing 0.75%, Anglo American, down 0.7% and Barclays, down 0.68%....