A flurry of buying interest helped London’s top flight shares close nearly 2%, or 98.8 points higher at 5,403.3 today.
The rally was driven by mining stocks amid hopes the Chinese government will fast-track approvals for infrastructure investment in an effort to safeguard its economy.
London’s progress was mirrored in Germany and France but gains on Wall Street were limited, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average only slightly higher following lacklustre US manufacturing activity figures.
In London, the heavily-weighted resource sector benefited from the China speculation as well as higher copper prices, with Antofagasta adding 46p to £10.76 and Fresnillo rising 68p to £13.87.
Royal Bank of Scotland rose 5%, or 1.1p to 21.95p, Lloyds Banking Group added 1.2p to 27.6p and Barclays lifted 8.9p to 188.9p.
Vodafone climbed 3% to near the top of the risers’ board after it delivered adjusted annual profits slightly better than City hopes. Shares in the mobile phone giant were 7p higher at £1.72 despite it revealing increased pressure on service revenues from the troubled eurozone.
Retail bellwether Marks and Spencer was up 0.5%, or 6.1p at 344.3p despite it reporting its first drop in profits for three years and downgrading revenue targets.
Other big risers included Weir Group ahead 79p at £15.82, while Man Group down 1.15p at 77.65p, Morrisons off 2.4p at £2.68, BSkyB down 5p at 690.5p and Burberry off 8p at £13.86 were among the heavier fallers.
Outside the top flight, Homeserve plunged 29% to the bottom of the FTSE 250 Index after the home repairs group revealed it was being investigated by the City watchdog in the wake of accusations over mis-selling and failures in complaints handling.
The shares fell 66.5p to 160.9p after it said it would downsize its UK operation as it tries to recover from the crisis.
Barry Shepherd, of investment manager and financial planning specialist Brewin Dolphin in Aberdeen, highlighted Standard Life up 2.7% to £2.10 and Hunting gaining 3.9% to £7.67. Stagecoach Group was off 0.1% at 234.05p and STV Group lost 2% to 99p.