In what is traditionally a quiet week on the equities markets, the FTSE 100 in London gained 0.1 percent to 5,318.4 on Monday, while the FTSE 250 was up by 0.4 percent to 7,691.7 on a low volume of 1.9 billion shares traded.

The mining sector was up on higher prices for copper. BHP Billiton gained 3.1 percent to 844 ½p on an expectation that its earnings statement, to be released on Wednesday, would be positive and on an increase in its rating by Numis Securities from “hold” to “add”.

Elsewhere in the sector, Antofagasta gained 3 percent to £14.69 and Rio Tinto added 2.9 percent to £20.49.

The decision on Friday by an American jury to hold pharmaceutical company Merck responsible for the death of a man who used its pain killer Vioxx had an effect on the rest of the sector as Shire Pharmaceutical lost 0.9 percent to 675 ½p and GlaxoSmithKline declined by 0.8 percent to £13.35.

Besides the news of the Merck verdict, GSK was also hurt by a report that its drug Paxil has been linked a survey by Oslo University that showed an increase of suicide attempts in adults who use the drug.

In the energy sector, mid-cap gas and oil company Soco International added 11.6 percent to 781p on the announcement that oil has been found at the Te Giac Trang site in Vietnam, in which it holds a 28 percent share.