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The FTSE 100 headed into the long weekend down by the narrowest of margins - falling 0.01 per cent on the day.

The index closed at 4,243.22 – a drop of 0.49 points.

Standing out from the gains was Kazakhmys – which was up 10.28 per cent on the day as the miner reported copper demand from China was above expectations.

Fellow miners followed the gains – with Vedanta rising 5.21 per cent, Xstrata climbing 5.10 per cent and Antofagasta up 4.75 per cent.

Royal Bank of Scotland rose 5.26 per cent to 44.00p.

Legal & General was down 3.43 per cent, InterContinental Hotels dropped 3.25 per cent and Amlin fell 2.91 per cent.

In New York, the Dow followed London loss of direction. At 12:14 EDT, the index was at 8,161.59 – down 6.53 points or 0.08 per cent.

Next week, the attention in London will fall on the banks – with Lloyds Banking posting a trading statement on Tuesday.

Nick Raynor, investment adviser at retail stockbroker at The Share Centre, said: "The first of the banks to report will be Lloyds. Investors and analysts will be looking for a number of things, namely news of further job cuts, a date for its latest rights issue and whether there are further skeletons in HBOS' closet.

"Lloyds’ shares have had a good run lately, and it will be interesting to see whether these gains are justified."

Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland are also both issuing trading statements next week.