The FTSE 100 extended gains to 68 points (1.15%) by mid afternoon, reaching 5,977. The FTSE 250 rose 68 points (0.6% to 11,660 and the FTSE AIM 100 index added 15 points (0.35%), rising to 4,115.
Barclays (LON:BARC) and Old Mutual (LON:OML) led the blue chips, climbing 4.4% and 3.5% respectively.
Private equity group 3i (LON:III) was the heaviest faller, sliding 5.2%. InterContinental Hotels Group (LON:IHG) dropped 1.4%.
No other FTSE 100 constituent lost 1% or more.
Oil & gas
BP (LON:BP) was in the lead with a 2% gain. Fellow supermajor Shell (LON:RDSB) held steady.
BG Group (LON:BG) and Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) rose marginally.
Engineering firm Petrofac (LON:PFC) added 1%.
Salamander Energy (LON:SMDR) led the midcaps, climbing 2.1%. Melrose Resources (LON:MRS) added 1.7%, as did service company Wood Group (LON:WG). Soco International (LON:SIA) rose 1%.
Heritage Oil (LON:HOIL) moved in the opposite direction, dropping 2.2%. JKX Oil & Gas (LON:JKX) lost 1%.
Small caps weren’t very active today.
Mining
Precious metals
Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) led the miners, climbing 3%. Lonmin (LON:LMI) added just over 1%.
Fresnillo (LON:FRES) rose marginally and African Barrick Gold (LON:ABG) was sitting just below the opening level.
In the FTSE 250, Hochschild Mining (LON:HOC) slipped 4% and Petropavlovsk (LON:POG) dropped 2%. Aquarius Platinum (LON:AQP) did better, tacking on 1.3%.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia focused gold explorer KEFI Minerals (LON:KEFI) was among the top performers in the sector, soaring 14%.
Base metals
Eurasian Natural Resources (LON:ENRC) led the sector, climbing 2.5%. Anglo American (LON:AAL) and Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) added just over 1%, as did midcap Ferrexpo (LON:FXPO).
BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) and Xstrata (LON:XTA) climbed 1%.
FTSE 250 constituent Kenmare Resources (LON:KMR), whose main asset is the Moma titanium minerals mine in Mozambique, rallied 5%.
Kazakhstan operating gold and copper explorer Frontier Mining (LON:FML) was among the top performing juniors, rising 5%.
Banks, insurance, private equity
Barclays (LON:BARC) led the banks, surging 4.4%. Part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) and Lloyds (LON:LLOY) added more than 3%.
Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) and HSBC (LON:HSBA) added 1.7% and 1.4% respectively.
Old Mutual (LON:OML) was the best performing insurer today, climbing 3%. Admiral Group (LON:ADM) advanced 2.8%.
Prudential (LON:PRU) and Aviva (LON:AV) rose 2.4% and 2.1% respectively.
Legal & General (LON:LGEN) and RSA Insurance Group (LON:RSA) tacked on 1%.
Small cap movers
Other notable risers among the small caps included Urals Energy (LON:UEN) and SeaEnergy (LON:SEA), which added 7.5% and 5.5% respectively.