It was another buoyant day for the FTSE 100 today after London’s blue-chip index closed 40.4 points higher at 5,910.9.
Royal Bank of Scotland was among the companies which enjoyed a shares boost after its exit from the UK Government’s toxic asset insurance scheme fuelled hopes of a return to the private sector.
RBS gained 2%, or 6.1p to 286.1p, on news of its withdrawal from the state-backed Asset Protection Scheme.
Among other blue-chip risers, Tesco surged nearly 3% after broker UBS upgraded its price target on the supermarket, which it said was on the path to stability in the UK. Shares lifted 8.4p to 316.3p.
Miners benefited from the improved market confidence, with Eurasian Natural Resources up by 7% – 23.8p to 352.2p – and Kazakhmys 51p stronger at 760p.
In a quiet session for corporate news, shares in drinks giant Diageo fell nearly 1% after a second quarter trading update fuelled worries about its performance in Asia Pacific. Shares were down 14p to 1,768.5p.
FTSE 250 firm Cable & Wireless Communications added 4%, up 1.3p to 37.5p, after it said it was in talks to sell all of its 51% stake in a Macau telecom operator.
The biggest Footsie risers included Anglo American, 96.5p higher at 1,905.5p, and Vedanta Resources up 48p to £11.47.
The biggest Footsie fallers were BAE Systems down 7.8p to 321.3p, Pearson off 26p to £12.17, Bunzl 18p lower at £10.99 and Compass down 10.5p to 684p.
Barry Shepherd, of investment manager and financial planning specialist Brewin Dolphin in Aberdeen, noted the risers included AMEC, which added 1.5% to £11.19, Cairn Energy gained 1.6% to 290.45p and Plexus closed 2.4% higher at 173p.
Fallers included Centrica, which lost 1.3% at 332p, and Lloyds Banking Group, which shed 1.5% to close at 42.14p.