In London on Monday the FTSE 100 added 0.34 percent to 6,712.7, while the FTSE 250 dropped 0.16 percent to 11,847.8.
Most of the gains on the session were produced by the mining sector, which saw advances as copper prices remained strong and after JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM; TYO: 8634) raised target share prices for several of the miners.
BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; ASX: BHP; NYSE: BHP) gained 1.78 percent to £15.43, while Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) was 2.71 percent higher to 681.5p.
Xstrata (LSE: XTA) added 2.88 percent to £33.60 and Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) was up 4.21 percent to £13.60.
Other gainers included food processor Tate & Lyle (LSE: TATE) which added 4.69 percent to 580p for the best performance on the 100.
Housebuilders put in the worst performances of the session on both the 100 and the 250.
Persimmon (LSE: PSN) dropped 4.12 on the 250 to £11.64, while on the 100 Bovis Homes fell 10.86 percent to 820.5p.
Other decliners in the sector included Redrow (LSE: RDW), which was 5.36 percent lower on the 250 to 512p and Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV), which was down 2.32 percent to 991.5p on the 100.
The declines in the sector were blamed on caution in the face of higher interest rates.