City news.

National Grid put some spark into a lacklustre market today as it outlined plans to demerge its wireless arm and return cash to shareholders.

With half-year profits also ahead of expectations, National Grid shares jumped by almost 4%, or 26.5p to 725.5p.

Nervousness ahead of inflation figures in the United States put pressure on the wider London market, and the FTSE 100 Index down in early trading but later rallied.

Miners led the fallers after Vedanta Resources dropped 52p to 1334p and Xstrata eased 19p to 2230p.

There was also disappointment at a trading update from Reed Elsevier, even though the publisher said its performance was in line with expectations. The stock was 16.5p lower at 584p, amid concerns about its education arm.

Ladbrokes fell sharply after it reported a slowdown in winnings following a run of bad results in football and racing last month. Shares were more than 5% lower at 392.5p after a drop of 22.5p. William Hill was dragged lower by the update, falling 14.5p to 641.5p.