Image source, BHP Billiton

To put the FTSE 100's rise into perspective, it's shot up 28% since its lowest point this year. 

Mining stocks are by far the biggest risers in that time, helped by a recovery in commodity prices and the post-referendum fall in the pound. Easyjet and Next are two of the heaviest fallers.

Best performing FTSE 100 shares since 2016 low (according to Hargreaves Lansdown)

1. Anglo American +215%
2. Glencore +145%
3. Fresnillo +109%
4. BHP Billiton +87%
5. Smiths Group +70%

Worst performing since 2016 low

1. Capita -37%
2. Easyjet -31%
3. Next -28%
4. ITV -23%
5. Royal Bank of Scotland -20% 

David Mundell says the SNP is obsessed with independence but says Scotland does not want a second independence referendum.

The Scottish secretary says a second referendum would be "the single biggest risk" to Scotland's economy.

"I believe with all my heart in the preservation of the Union," says Scottish Secretary David Mundell.

The "broad shoulders" of the UK will carry it through the process of leaving the EU, he agues, adding:

Mr Mundell says the UK is the "vital union" and Scotland trades "four times more with the rest of the UK than with the EU".

Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire is up next. He says Northern Ireland is one of the UK's most popular destinations for foreign investment, alongside London.

He says the government "will take no risks" with Northern Ireland's "hard-won political stability".

Following the Brexit vote, "no-one wants to see a return to the borders of the past", he says.

BBC Radio 4

Business in the Conservative conference hall in Birmingham gets under way with a speech from Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies.

He says he often felt like a "lone voice" as the only party leader in Wales to campaign for Brexit, but a majority of voters in Wales backed Leave on 23 June.

Leaving the EU offers "many, many opportunities", he says, accusing Labour Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones of "a lack of ambition, clarity and repeated scaremongering" following the vote.

Meanwhile, Plaid Cymru has used the Leave vote to renew a call for independence which, Mr Davies says, "only a fraction" of people in Wales support.

Birmingham’s striking library glistens in the October sun as people join the queue (which is not nearly as massive as yesterday) into day three of the conference.

We’ll be hearing from, among others, Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Defence Secretary Michael Fallon. 

The Green Party takes aim at Jeremy Hunt in its response to the announcement of more training places for doctors in England, saying the health secretary "refuses to learn from the wake of destruction he has already left".

"The Conservative government has slashed NHS funding, closed vital services and increased privatisation, while Hunt has launched a full-scale smear campaign against junior doctors," says the party's health spokesman, Larry Sanders.

The fall in the pound has also propelled the UK's FTSE 250 share index to a record high. 

The index, which is made up of the next 250 biggest UK-listed companies behind those in the FTSE 100, is currently trading at 18,470 points. 

Michael Hewson of CMC Markets says it's had a "double boost" from the weaker pound and recent UK economic data.

There are plenty of companies with international businesses on the index, he says. Because of the weaker pound, profits made abroad are worth more when converted back into sterling.

Companies that are focused more on the UK are also benefiting from economic data which has been "decent in recent weeks", he says.

Taking a longer-term view, though, the overseas firms have fared much better this year than British businesses, as this FT chart suggests...

Image source, Getty Images

Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb has responded to the government's announcement of more training places for doctors.

The former care minister points the finger at the current health secretary over problems with retaining doctors.

Alun Cairns will launch a fierce attack on the "mismanagement" of £4bn of EU grants by the Welsh Government which were to help the poorest areas.

The Welsh Secretary will say Labour has let down west Wales and the valleys.

Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Mr Cairns will say some areas, which had the most EU funds, voted the strongest to leave.

He will also accuse First Minister Carwyn Jones of trying to present Wales as "a victim of the EU referendum".

More here.

So what's causing the pound to tumble against the dollar? Analysts at Commerzbank said: 

"What is causing particular uncertainty among investors are the strong affirmations of the British government to insist on limiting the freedom of movement. 

"This increases fears of a 'hard' Brexit because so far nobody sees a possibility of achieving this without [Prime Minister Theresa] May having to accept notable restrictions when it comes to accessing the single market. 

"That in turn is likely to lead to considerable economic effects and be of notable relevance for the attractiveness of sterling investments." 

The Sun

The Sun's political editor Tom Newton Dunn reports that Theresa May "will put Britain’s world beating counter-terrorism expertise on the table during Brexit negotiations".

"In a little noticed line in her Tory conference speech on Sunday, the PM included GCHQ, MI5 and MI6’s world beating intelligence as part of the UK’s potential exit deal.

"The fleeting reference was intended to be a strong message to Europe’s capitals – many of whom rely heavily on our spy networks to warn them of impending terror attacks.

"The controversial addition will spark fury among them, as could easily be read as a veiled threat that tip offs may be withdrawn unless Brussels continues to stump up free trade.

"But No10 sources insisted there is nothing wrong with Mrs May playing 'hardball'."

The article also quotes pro-Remain Labour MP Chuka Umunna, who said that brinkmanship over intelligence co-operation would be "completely counter-productive for either side".

The Times

Image source, PA

The Times reports, external that Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson is on "a collision course" with Theresa May after the prime minister implied that the UK would choose ending freedom of movement over special access to the single market".

The paper writes: "Ms Davidson said yesterday that staying in the single market, even if it meant no control over immigration, was still her 'preferred choice'.

Also in the Times, former Attorney General Dominic Grieve argues, external that not to give Parliament a say in triggering the process of leaving the EU "goes entirely against constitutional principles", adding:

Image source, PA

The UK's construction sector has returned to growth for the first time since May, according to the latest survey of purchasing managers from Markit/CIPS, external.

Its Construction Purchasing Manager's Index rose to 52.3 in September. Anything above 50 indicates expansion, and the index has not been above that level in four months.

Tim Moore, senior economist, at IHS Markit said:

“Resilient housing market conditions and a renewed upturn in civil engineering activity helped to drive an overall improvement in construction output volumes for the first time since the EU referendum.

“A number of survey respondents noted that Brexit-related anxiety has receded among clients, although it remained a factor behind the ongoing decline in commercial building work."