Some well received news from raw materials company Yule Catto has proved a catalyst for good gains in the chemicals sector.

Yule Catto's joint venture subsidiary, Revertex (Malaysia) has exchanged conditional contracts with HB Fuller Company for the sale of adhesives business Revertex Finewaters.

Defensively-oriented stocks are out of favour. Scottish & Southern Energy leads the electricity sector lower, while Lambert & Butler maker Imperial has the tobacco sector in the red.

Top performing sectors so far today
Automobiles & Parts 2,952.98 +2.60%
Industrial Metals & Mining 6,015.71 +1.55%
Chemicals 5,113.50 +1.45%
Real Estate Investment Trusts 1,902.50 +1.45%
Financial Services 5,080.44 +1.40%

Bottom performing sectors so far today
Electricity 6,602.46 -0.45%
Tobacco 27,066.67 -0.32%
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 8,753.21 -0.29%
Food & Drug Retailers 4,914.87 -0.19%
Gas, Water & Multiutilities 4,226.22 -0.15%

Related share prices
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) share price
SSE (SSE) share price
Yule Catto & Co (YULC) share price