A lack of major corporate news ahead of the long Easter weekend led to a lacklustre performance by the FTSE 100 Index yesterday.

The slow start to trading on Wall Street and a downbeat sales statement from telecoms company Nokia sent the Footsie 7.9 points lower to 4472.8 by the close.

Throughout the day the index drifted within a narrow margin of its opening mark as traders held out for tomorrow's interest rates decision from the Bank of England.

Analysts said mining stocks saw a drop in value due to a perception that there might be a global surplus of base metals and copper. Xstrata was near the top of the losers, off 24.5p to 719p, while Rio Tinto was down 19p to 1384p and BHP Billiton dropped 10p to 509.5p.

Telecoms companies were also pulling the market down after mobile phone maker Nokia warned that first quarter sales would be below expectations. Although its shares initially fell by 16 per cent, they recovered to close 6p down at 1145p.

Vodafone also dropped 1.25p to 131p, rival mmO2 lost 2.25p to 101.25p and Cable and Wireless fell back 3.75p to 128p.

However, oil stocks were doing their best to prop up the Footsie, with Shell high on the risers board with a 4.25p increase to 368.5p. Rival BP also rose half a penny to 478.5p.

On a fairly quiet day for corporate news, companies outside the top flight were trying to lift the mood.

Publisher Highbury House saw its stock rise 0.25p to 23.75p as it said current trading was ahead of expectations after overcoming the disruption of a business overhaul.

Display marketing group Premier Direct, which sells books and novelty items through shops, offices and schools, saw its shares soar 12 per cent as it posted record results. A 437 per cent lift in half-yearly profits helped the stock lift 77.5p to 720p.

However, online retailer lastminute.com was down 9.5p to 215.5p despite seeing booking levels move "materially ahead" of hopes.

Airports owner TBI remained constant at 67p despite revealing passenger numbers jumped 13 per cent as demand for low-cost services remained strong in the first three months of this year.

The Footsie's biggest risers yesterday were GlaxoSmithKline up 25p to 1095p, Man Group lifting 38p to 1815p, Imperial Tobacco cheering 24p to 1220p and Friends Provident 2.75p higher at 153.5p.

The heaviest fallers were Sage Group off 7.5p to 178p, Antofagasta losing 36p to 1044p, Xstrata falling 24.5p to 719p and Hays down 4p to 125.5p.