London’s top flight index rallied, as the rising oil price helped the market bounce back from Thursday’s three-and-a-half year low.
The FTSE 100 Index rose 1.7% or 97 points to 5634.6, as oil stocks rose sharply on the back of a near 5% growth in the price of Brent crude.
The oil price was up nearly one-and-a-half US dollars to 31.5 US dollars per barrel amid speculation that members of the Opec oil cartel were ready to negotiate over possible production cuts.
BP was up 4% or 13.2p to 323.5p, while Royal Dutch Shell climbed 2.8% or 41p to 1487p, and oil and gas explorer BG Group rose 2.4% or 24p to 1044.5p.
Germany’s Dax and the Cac 40 in France also grew 1.6% and 1.4% respectively, as European banking stocks rebounded after plunging into the red in three sessions this week.
The resurgence was led by Germany’s Commerzbank, which has announced its first dividend since 2007, helping its shares rise 17%.
UK banking stocks also made gains after a torrid week of trading where investors lost confidence in heavyweight financial institutions fearing their vulnerability to a slowdown in global growth.
Barclays was up 4.1% or 6.2p to 154p, Standard Chartered climbed 7.7% or 29.8p to 416.5p, with Lloyds Banking Group up 1.5% or 0.8p to 56.8p.
The pound was up 0.8% against the euro at 1.28, as economic data in Germany suggested it was edging towards its first quarterly slowdown in annual growth since the second quarter of 2014.
The pound was also up marginally against the dollar at 1.45.
In stocks, engine-maker Rolls-Royce saw shares surge more than 16% or 88p to 618p, as its fall in profit was better than analysts had expected.
Its annual profits tumbled 12% to £1.4 billion as the business was hit by civil aerospace cuts and falling commodity prices that have affected output at its marine division, which supplies the oil industry.
It also confirmed it would cut its dividend by half to 7.1p a share, as it bids to conserve cash.
Fashion chain Superdry saw its stock value come under pressure after its founder announced he had sold just under £50 million of shares to fund his divorce.
Julian Dunkerton completed the sale of four million shares on Thursday night at around £12 each to raise £48 million, Superdry owner SuperGroup confirmed.
Shares fell almost 2.1% or 27p to 1302p.
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