Royal Bank of Scotland was higher after Liberum Capital upgraded the stock to 'buy' with its target price at 340p.

Hammerson also climbed following an upgrade by Oriel Securities to add.

A number of property and construction & materials companies were higher, boosted by new plans unveiled in the 2013 Budget statement to lend support to home buyers who are struggling to get on or move up the property ladder.

Miners were once again performing poorly, as investors continued to avoid the typically riskier, cyclical stocks.

ENRC was lower after it said 2012 had been a "challenging year" as a swing into the red led to the miner scrapping its final dividend. The resources giant recorded a loss before tax of $550m, down from a profit of $2.76bn the year before, as it took impairment charges and an onerous contract provision totalling $1.54bn.

Aviva was lower after going ex-dividend, along with InterContinental Hotels, and Anglo American.


FTSE 100 - Risers
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,128.00p +1.71%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 298.60p +1.70%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 117.10p +1.56%
Schroders (SDR) 2,129.00p +1.48%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,097.00p +1.39%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,240.00p +1.31%
Polymetal International (POLY) 868.00p +1.22%
Next (NXT) 4,157.00p +1.14%
Hammerson (HMSO) 505.00p +1.14%
CRH (CRH) 1,524.00p +1.13%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Aviva (AV.) 312.90p -3.19%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,770.50p -2.72%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,283.00p -1.81%
Pearson (PSON) 1,170.00p -1.76%
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 307.60p -1.63%
Xstrata (XTA) 1,091.50p -1.58%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 1,967.00p -1.55%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 263.20p -1.53%
Glencore International (GLEN) 363.70p -1.45%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 392.40p -1.43%

NR

Related share prices
Anglo American (AAL) share price
Aviva (AV.) share price
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) share price
CRH (CRH) share price
Xstrata (XTA) share price
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) share price
Glencore Xstrata (GLEN) share price