London’s top flight index bounced back from recent sharp falls as Lloyds sweetened investors by revealing a special £2 billion dividend.
The announcement by the banking giant saw shares rise more than 9% or 5.8p to 68p, despite seeing pre-tax profits 11% lower at £1.6 billion in 2015 and stomaching another £2.1 billion hit for payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling.
The FTSE 100 Index was up 95.9 points to 5,964.3, as commodity stocks rallied back from falls in the previous session when a drop in the cost of metals and the fluctuating oil price dealt a blow to their stock value.
Anglo American climbed 14.8p to 424.6p, while Glencore lifted 5p to 121.2p.
Brent crude was down just under 2% to 33.79 US dollars a barrel, falling back after a late rally in the previous session when it rose more than 2%.