BP shares climb 5% on dividend lift

Mining stocks and oil giant BP provided a lift for London's FTSE 100 today as a huge storm hit the eastern United States, keeping Wall Street closed for a second day.

Oil major BP helped boost the index after raising its quarterly dividend for the second time in less than a year. In reaction BP shares were up 4.6% to 444p in afternoon trading, helping to lift the blue chip index up 0.76% to 5,844. Mining stocks such as Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys, EVRAZ and ENRC are also performing well as metals prices advance. Overseas, European stocks also rose, with both Germany's DAX index and France's CAC up 1% in afternoon trading. European markets are being boosted by Swiss bank UBS, as well as Deutsche Bank which reported earnings ahead of estimates. UBS...