The mining sector was broadly higher on Thursday on hopes that potential stimulus measures in China would boost the demand for commodities. Evraz, Kazakhmys, Vedanta and Fresnillo were among the best performers. Banking peers Lloyds and RBS were also making decent gains, despite news that they, along with a number of other financial companies, have been called in for questioning in the US over the alleged rigging of inter-bank lending rates. Publishing group Reed Elsevier was rising after it announced the appointment of Duncan Palmer as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), having lured him away from US company Owens Corning. Palmer will take over from Mark Armour, who is retiring at the end of the year. FTSE 100 - RisersIMI (IMI) 912.00p +3.11%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 32.72p +2.39%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 226.20p +2.08%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 729.50p +2.03%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,512.00p +1.54%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,736.00p +1.52%Tesco (TSCO) 336.75p +1.25%Barclays (BARC) 185.30p +1.20%Evraz (EVR) 265.40p +1.14%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 358.20p +1.10%FTSE 100 - FallersAdmiral Group (ADM) 1,150.00p -2.71%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 369.90p -2.56%Prudential (PRU) 803.50p -2.37%ARM Holdings (ARM) 573.00p -1.88%Pennon Group (PNN) 750.50p -1.77%Experian (EXPN) 986.00p -1.60%Vodafone Group (VOD) 185.85p -1.54%Carnival (CCL) 2,158.00p -1.51%Bunzl (BNZL) 1,095.00p -1.35%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,408.00p -1.30%nr