Santa Rally sends FTSE 100 to new record high

Strong gains for mining companies helped power the FTSE 100 to close at a new record high.

The FTSE rose 0.5%, or 37.9 points, to 7,106.08 points - above the previous record of 7,103.98 set on 27 April 2015.

The traditional "Santa rally" boosted blue chip stocks, with Randgold and Fresnillo both ending almost 5% higher, while BHP Billiton gained 4% to £13.08.

British Land and Land Securities both fell 3% to be the biggest fallers.

British Airways owner IAG dropped 2.9% to 444.1p, while easyJet fell 1.7% to £10.17.

On the FTSE 250, housebuilder Bovis Homes shed 5.3% to 811p after warning on profits.

It blamed "slower-than-expected build production" in December for a slowdown in sales, with completions on around 180 homes set to be delayed into early 2017.

Bovis now expected to complete between 3,950 and 4,000 homes this year, which will leave annual profits at between £160m and £170m.

Shares in Sports Direct rose 3.1% to 280.9p after it announced a £112m sale of its Dunlop brand to Japan's Sumitomo Rubber Industries.

The retailer said it did not have the capacity to "develop and manage international brands simultaneously" and needed to prioritise its core UK businesses and relationships with third party brands.

Retail analyst Nick Bubb said the statement could raise investors' eyebrows. Sports Direct shares have fallen more than 50% this year.

Boohoo.com jumped 2.8% to 136p after revealing a $20m (£16m) deal for failed US fashion retailer Nasty Gal.

The online retailer wants the brand and customer databases of Nasty Gal, which filed for bankruptcy in November.

The move follows Boohoo's recent acquisition of rival site Pretty Little Thing for £3.3m and higher profit guidance following robust Black Friday trading.

On the currency markets, the pound fell 0.3% against the dollar to $1.2227, and rose 0.2% against the euro at €1.1757.