INVESTORS shrugged off a gloomy economic assessment from the OECD yesterday as optimism surrounding moves to stem the eurozone debt crisis pushed markets higher.
The FTSE 100 index closed nearly 3% higher, or 148.1 points at 5,312.7, with banks leading the surge amid speculation that the International Monetary Fund was preparing a £500billion bailout package for Italy.
Barclays gained 8% to 167.9p, while the Royal Bank of Scotland was 1p higher at 19.7p. In the insurance sector, Aviva rose 18.1p to 298.5p and Prudential cheered 32.5p to 598p.
Glasgow-based pump and valve specialist Weir Group was at the top of the FTSE 100 index after UBS upgraded its earnings estimates by 7% for both next year and 2013.
Its shares jumped 8% to £19.43, followed its recent acquisition of American shale oil and gas specialist Seaboard Holdings.
The biggest gain in the FTSE 250 Index came from Thomas Cook, which rose 3.7p to 21.7p. TUI Travel was also higher, up 5.4p to 160p.
Meanwhile, women’s clothing retailer Jacques Vert provided more retail gloom when it said pre-tax profits for the year to April would be below its expectations. It blamed weak consumer confidence and unseasonably warm weather. Shares were 1.25p lower at 12.5p.
David Barclay, of investment manager and financial-planning specialist Brewin Dolphin in Aberdeen, noted that Aberdeen Asset Management closed 4.7% higher at 193.8p. Among the fallers, STV Group finished down 0.8% to 88.5p while John Menzies slid 0.6% to 505.75p.
Aberdeen Asset Management said yesterday it had been named group of the year at the Investment Trust of the Year awards.