Pick of the early market news

The FTSE 100 sustained Wednesday's gains yesterday, inching five more points up to 5,798. Big gainers were miners, most notably Xstrata (almost 10% up) and Glencore International (almost 7% up). However Unilever shares took a battering (down -4.36%) on volume growth anxieties. European shares also managed to hang onto the optimism, with the German Dax rising almost 40 points to 6,655.