The FTSE 100 advanced 1.3% by mid afternoon to pass the 6,000 mark.
Builders’ merchant Wolseley (LON:WOS) led the blue chips with a 6.5% climb. Chipmaker ARM Holdings (LON:ARM) and bank Barclays (LON:BARC) followed, rising 6% and 5% respectively.
Medical devices manufacturer Smith & Nephew (LON:SN) was at the bottom of the pile with a 4.2% loss.
Capital Shopping Centres Group (LON:CSCG) and National Grid (LON:NG) lost 2% and 1.5% respectively.
Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) was down 1%.
Oil & gas
Supermajors BP (LON:BP) and Shell (LON:RDSB) climbed 1.5% and 1% respectively.
BG Group (LON:BG) posted a small gain, while Cairn Energy (LON:CNE) and Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) advanced 4.5% and 1.5%.
Engineering firms Amec (LON:AMEC) and Petrofac (LON:PFC) were up 1% and 2.5%.
Salamander Energy (LON:SMDR) led the midcaps, advancing 3.5%.
Soco International (LON:SIA) and Melrose Resources (LON:MRS) added 1.8% and 1.35% respectively.
Heritage Oil (LON:HOIL), Premier Oil (LON:PMO) and JKX Oil & Gas (LON:JKX) rose marginally.
Service company Wood Group (LON:WG) tacked on 2.4%.
Oil and gas focused investor Solo Oil (LON:SOLO) led the juniors, soaring 15%.
Aurelian Oil & Gas (LON:AUL), which is focused on the Central and Eastern European oil and gas markets, also did well, rising 6.5%.
Mining
Precious metals
Silver producer Fresnillo (LON:FRES) led the mining stocks with a 2.5% climb.
Platinum miner Lonmin (LON:LMI) and gold miner Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) added 1.8% and 1.1% respectively.
Another gold producer African Barrick Gold (LON:ABG) rose marginally.
In the FTSE 250, Hochschild Mining (LON:HOC) and Petropavlovsk (LON:POG) rose 2.3% and 1.9% respectively. Aquarius Platinum (LON:AQP) rose marginally.
Diversified mining investment company ECR Minerals (LON:ECR) rose 10%.
Oxus Gold (LON:OXS), which is the only publicly listed gold mining company with primary operations inside the Republic of Uzbekistan, followed with a 7.5% gain.
Base metals
Mining stocks were on the rise today with Kazakhmys (LON:KAZ) leading the way with a gain of 3.8%.
Eurasian Natural Resources (LON:ENRC), Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) and Xstrata (LON:XTA) added nearly 3%.
Anglo American (LON:AAL) and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) advanced 2%, while Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) tacked on 1.7%.
London’s only listed pure iron ore producer Ferrexpo (LON:FXPO) rose 3%. Another FTSE 250 constituent Kenmare Resources (LON:KMR), which is developing its Moma titanium minerals mine in Mozambique, outperformed the sector, surging 4.2%.
Coal production and processing company Atlantic Coal (LON:ATC) jumped 22%.
South Africa coal developer Strategic Natural Resources (LON:SNRP) and mineral exploration and development company African Eagle Resources (LON:AFE) surged 11.5% and 8% respectively.
Banks, insurance, private equity
Barclays (LON:BARC) led the banking stocks with a 5.2% gain.
HSBC (LON:HSBA), Lloyds (LON:LLOY) and Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) tacked on just over 2.5%.
Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) bucked the trend, posting a small loss.
Old Mutual (LON:OML) led the insurers with a 2.6% advance.
Peers Legal & General (LON:LGEN) and Standard Life (LON:SL) added just over 2%, Aviva (LON:AV) rose 2%, RSA Insurance Group (LON:RSA) and Prudential (LON:PRU) climbed 1.6% and 1.3% respectively and Admiral Group (LON:ADM) rose marginally.
Small cap movers
Other notable movers among the small caps included Avia Health Informatics (LON:AVIA), which surged 11%.