The FTSE 100 is expected to fall 7 points (0.1 percent) in early trade today after adding 29 points (0.5 percent) to close at 5,803. ITV (LON:ITV) led the blue chips yesterday, rallying 4.4 percent. Asset management firm and Kazakhstan operating miner Kazakhmys (LON:KAZ) tacked on nearly 4 percent. International Airlines Group (LON:IAG) and mining major Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) rose 3.5 percent. Engineering firm Petrofac (LON:PFC) and telecom group BT (LON:BT.A) added nearly 3 percent. Commodities trader Glencore (LON:GLEN) was at the bottom of the pile with a 4.5 percent loss. Miner Xstrata (LON:XTA) dropped 3.1 percent. Imperial Tobacco Group (LON:IMT) and miner Eurasian Natural Resources (LON:ENRC) fell 2 percent. Markets in the US were in buying mode yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rallied 123 points (1.05 percent) to 12,076. The broader S&P 500 index rose 16 points (1.25 percent) to 1,287 and the technology heavy NASDAQ composite surged 39 points (1.5 percent) to 2,679. Home Depot (NYSE:HD) led the DJIA components with a 3.7 percent gain. Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) followed with a 2.5 percent gain. Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Alcoa (NYSE:AA) added just over 2 percent. Intel Corp (NYSE:INTC) rose 2 percent. Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and DuPont (NYSE:DD) tacked on just over 1.5 percent. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) moved in the opposite direction, shedding 1.5 percent. In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 20 points (0.2 percent) to 9,567 and China’s Shanghai Composite Index declined 20 points (0.75 percent) to 2,710.

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