BHP BILLITON found a new high amid a rebound in its sector after the world’s biggest mining company boosted the size of an off-market share buyback by 50 per cent to A$2.25 billion (£924 million).

The Anglo-Australian miner, flush with cash thanks to booming metal prices, said that it had been able to increase the buyback from A$1.5 billion because of “strong support” from shareholders. The offmarket repurchase was the first part of a £1.15 billion capital management programme, with the remaining £230 million to be returned through an onmarket buyback of BHP’s London-listed shares.

BHP also found support from the deal struck over the weekend between Australia and China regarding the sale of uranium between the two countries. Australia has about 40 per cent of the world’s known uranium reserves, with BHP and Rio Tinto, its rival, operating two of the country’s biggest mines. Although volume uranium exports to China for power generation are not expected to start until 2010, the agreement will probably underpin uranium’s soaring price in the long term, to the benefit of miners such as BHP.

However, an advance in metals prices helped miners as a whole. Zinc and copper hit new highs, with the latter bolstered by strike activity in Mexico, while gold settled at a 25-year peak.

Elsewhere, nickel — an important metal for BHP through its flagship Ravensthorpe development in Western Australia — rose 5 per cent after attacks by activists on Inco’s large Goro mine in New Caledonia. BHP jumped 67p to £11.18½, followed by Rio Tinto, up 131p to £30.53. Xstrata rose 72p to £19.35, with Kazakhmys 38½p better at £11.16½ and Anglo American 71p ahead at £22.89.

That sector rally, coupled with a strong overnight showing from Far Eastern stock markets, saw the FTSE 100 close 59.7 points higher at 6,024.3.

However, the lack of the position-squaring at the end of the quarter by fund managers that enlivened last week’s dealings and the end of the tax year tomorrow made for a relatively torpid session. Ladbrokes, up 2¾p to 391¾p, was unusually among one of the most heavily traded large-caps as a block of seven million shares changed hands at 394p.

With speculative activity more subdued than in recent sessions, Prudential, up 5p to 672½p, stood out amid speculation that it had drawn predatory interest from America after last month’s termination of talks with Aviva, up 10½p to 810p.

Cable & Wireless, down 2½p to 106¾p, came away with the worst blue-chip fall, reflecting concern over the impact on its Bulldog operations of the expected launch by Carphone Warehouse next week of a free broadband service.

GlaxoSmithKline improved 18p to £15.23 on releasing positive Phase III trial results for its Tykerb breast cancer treatment. The drug, a rival to Roche’s Herceptin, will be submitted to US and European regulators in the second half of this year. ITV firmed ¾p to 120p as Morgan Stanley moved from “underweight” to “neutral” with a raised 118p target.

• NEW YORK: shares ended mixed as a strong early rally ran out of steam in late-day trading. The Dow Jones industrial average finished 35.60 points up at 11,144.90

Explore Markets

• United States

• Europe

• Japan

• China

• Russia

• The Gulf

• India

• Africa

Times Recommends

• Lies and cover-up at MG Rover exposed by report
• High oil prices push manufacturing costs up
• Primark founder steps down as chief executive