Hochschild drops after near 35 profit fall
Segro gains on strong occupier demand
Relx climbs on confident outlook
Melrose hits more than 3yr high on Dowlais listing
FTSE 100 up 0.1, FTSE 250 down 0.3

April 20 Reuters The UK39;s FTSE 100 index closed slightly up on Thursday as a jump in shares of consumer conglomerate Melrose offered just enough of a boost to overshadow falls in commoditylinked sectors.

Melrose Industries Plc surged 21.7 to hit a more than threeyear high after it listed shares in the former automotive division of engineer GKN on the London Stock Exchange as Dowlais at 146 pence.

The bluechip FTSE 100 closed 0.1 up, while the midcap FTSE 250 was down 0.3.

With spinoffs like Dowlais, they often are focused businesses which investors tend to like because of much better earnings visibility, said Shanti Kelemen, chief investment officer at MG Wealth Investments

Companies really want them spinoffs to succeed, so they often are priced attractively.

Weighing on the FTSE 100 were oil giants BP Plc and Shell Plc, losing 0.9 and 0.3 respectively, and base metal miners, which lost 0.4, tracking weak commodity prices that fell on lower demand expectations.

The FTSE 100 was on a winning streak until recently, with commodity stocks tracking firm crude and metal prices, but a recent decadeshigh inflation reading added to concerns over rate hikes and heightened fears of a slowdown in growth.

Among other major movers, Segro Plc gained 3.6 after the…