The FTSE 100 Index limped into the black today as a better than expected start on Wall Street helped the London market claw back early losses.

Investors, spooked by a sell off in Asia, were reassured by slim losses across the Atlantic.

The Footsie closed up 3.9 points at 4689.7 despite news that Bank of England Governor Mervyn King wanted to expand the quantitative easing programme by even more than the £50 billion agreed.

The pound slumped following the minutes of the Bank’s August meeting.

But activity in the US helped steady investor nerves as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell a less than predicted 0.17%.

And oil prices jumped above 70 US dollars a barrel after a huge draw of crude oil from US stockpiles took traders by surprise.

Miners surged to the top of the top flight in a second day of gains for the sector.

Eurasian Natural Resources led the risers up 6% - or 48.5p at 825.5p - followed by Fresnillo, which added 33p to 603p and Xstrata up 13.5p at 771.5p.

In a quiet trading day Lloyds Banking Group jumped 2% amid news it is reviewing its closure plans for the Cheltenham and Gloucester branch network.

But other banks were among those on the fallers board. HSBC was down 13p at 643p, while Standard Chartered was off 17p at 1373p and Barclays fell 1.55p to 345p.

British Land suffered a more than 2% drop - down 11.6p to 471.4p - as investors took profits in the wake of fading takeover speculation and after the property company published first quarter results. Hammerson was off 3.2p at 389.9p.

A number of stocks turning ex-dividend, meaning new investors will not be able to take part in the upcoming dividend payment, put pressure on the top tier.