FTSE 100 movers: Miners surge as metal prices fly higher

The FTSE 100 was tracking flat in afternoon trading, chopping slightly above and below the line as investors digested the Bank of England's unanimous decision to stand pat on monetary policy.

A surge in metal prices earlier had miners taking up much of the top ten. Anglo American, Antofagasta, Glencore, Fresnillo, BHP Billiton, Randgold and Rio Tinto were all featured. Copper hit a four month high in mid-morning trade, up 1.3% to $5,057 per tonne. Aluminium, zinc, lead and tin were all rising as well, though nickel bucked the trend and was tracking a slight loss.

Among other risers, residential property developer Berkeley Group Holdings was ahead after having its 'buy' rating reaffirmed by Deutsche Bank analysts. HSBC also set a 'buy' rating on the stock, with a price target of 4290p, highlighting a potential upside of 36.51%.

Barclays shares were pressured into the red during the afternoon, as investing tycoon Terry Smith announced he was suing the bank for "atrocious" customer service, after it failed to complete a £330,000 transfer he was going to use for an investment. Smith claimed the failure cost him £220,000 in forgone profit. Barclays has refuted the claim, saying Smith did not follow its instructions on the transfer correctly.

Other big banks below the waterline on Thursday afternoon included HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland.

British American Tobacco was also under the cosh, with the 24 analysts covering the stock giving it an average rating of 'hold'. Its average 12-month target price among brokers was 3,849.33p. The tobacco producer announced its intention to cease manufacturing in Malaysia within the next 18 months, shifting the large operation to its other facilities in Asia.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Anglo American (AAL) 543.70p 10.35%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 543.00p 9.39%
Glencore (GLEN) 157.60p 9.22%
Fresnillo (FRES) 994.50p 8.63%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 821.10p 7.56%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,615.00p 7.13%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,035.50p 5.49%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 287.60p 3.94%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,273.00p 3.87%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,879.00p 3.53%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Shire Plc (SHP) 3,540.00p -3.15%
Worldpay Group (WI) (WPG) 275.50p -2.34%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,028.00p -2.16%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,484.00p -2.11%
Barclays (BARC) 160.75p -1.98%
Carnival (CCL) 3,464.00p -1.93%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,757.00p -1.75%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 449.35p -1.72%
GKN (GKN) 280.20p -1.68%
Provident Financial (PFG) 2,897.00p -1.66%