The biggest riser in early trading (0937) was Man Group (EMG.L), which saw share price rise by 3.4 per cent to 258.2p.

The listed hedge fund saw share price rise after announcing its investment management business had raised $1.5 billion for an open-ended fund in Japan - Nomura Global Trend fund.

Peter Clarke, chief executive of Man, said, 'The outstanding success of this open-ended fund launch is due to its appealing and innovative structure, and the commitment and expertise of the teams at both Man and Nomura.'

Engineering group IMI (IMI.L) saw its share price rise by 2.1 per cent to 1,115p, while Imperial Tobacco (IMT.L) added 2 per cent to its share price in early trading, rising to 2,150p.

Asset manager Schroders (SDR.L) and business software provider Sage Group (SGE.L) both increased by 1.6 per cent to 1,929p and 289.5p, respectively.

The biggest faller was Randgold Resources (RRS.L), dropping by 3.2 per cent to 5,055p, followed by broadcaster ITV (ITV.L), which fell by 1.6 per cent to 74..8p.

Mexican silver miner Fresnillo (FRES.L) fashion retailer Next (NXT.L) and copper miner Kazakhmys (KAZ.L) all fell 1.6 per cent to 1,616p, 2,204p and 1,359p, respectively.