In London on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 gained 0.1 percent to close at 5,332.3 after having fallen 23 points early. Meanwhile the FTSE 250 managed another all-time high, gaining 0.5 percent to 7,675.4. 2.7 billion shares were traded on the day.

The mining sector was key in the day’s gains. Shares in Rio Tinto gained 3.7 percent to £19.86 on a first-half report that they more than doubled their underlying earnings in comparison with first-half results last year.

Antofagasta advanced by 3.5 percent to £13.39, BHP Billiton was up 3.3 percent to 837p, and Xstrata added 2.6 percent to £12.45 after it announced a joint venture with Anglo Platinum to develop a mine.

Plasterboard maker BPH gained 3.7 percent to 734p even after it rejected two bids from French company Saint-Gobain, as investors expect another bid to be made. Amvescap lost 1 percent to 416p when UBS said that a bid from CI Financial would probably not be successful and raised the target price for the funds management group to 450p from 330p.

Rumors that Amvescap might be involved in a bid for Henderson Group, a mid-cap fund management company, sent Henderson’s shares up 1.1 percent to 68 ¼p.