Software developer Autonomy Corporation (LON:AU) led the FTSE 100 with a 6.7% rally.
Mining major Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) and specialty chemicals firm Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT) followed, climbing 4.8% and 3.7%.
Defence and aerospace systems manufacturer BAE Systems (LON:BA) and engineering company Smiths Group (LON:SMIN) were at the bottom of the pile with losses of over 2%.
InterContinental Hotels Group (LON:IHG) was down 1.5%.
Oil & gas
BP (LON:BP) declined 1% after reporting its 2010 results. Fellow supermajor Shell (LON:RDSB) advanced 2.5%, as did Cairn Energy (LON:CNE).
BG Group (LON:BG) and Tullow Oil (LON:TLW) added nearly 2%.
Engineering firms Amec (LON:AMEC) and Petrofac (LON:PFC) climbed 2.2% and 2.6% respectively.
Heritage Oil (LON:HOIL) dropped 2%, while other midcaps advanced.
Salamander Energy (LON:SMDR) was in the lead with a 2.5% gain.
Melrose Resources (LON:MRS) and Soco International (LON:SIA) moved up 1.5%.
JKX Oil & Gas (LON:JKX) and Premier Oil (LON:PMO) rose marginally.
Service company Wood Group (LON:WG) added 2.1%.
Energy sector focused investor Xtract Energy (LON:XTR) led the juniors, rallying 11.5%.
Mining
Precious metals
Mining majors were on the rise today.
Silver miner Fresnillo (LON:FRES) added nearly 4% and platinum miner Lonmin (LON:LMI) advanced 2.3%, while gold producers Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) and African Barrick Gold (LON:ABG) tacked on 1.3% and 1% respectively.
In the FTSE 250, Aquarius Platinum (LON:AQP) and Petropavlovsk (LON:POG) climbed 2% and Hochschild Mining (LON:HOIL) posted a small gain.
Gold and iron ore focused African Aura Mining (LON:AAAM) and Norseman Gold (LON:NGL), which operates Australia’s longest continuously running gold mining operation, were among the top risers in the sector with gains of 8.5% and 7.5% respectively.
Base metals
Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) led the base metal miners, surging 4.8%.
Kazakhmys (LON:KAZ) followed, tacking on 3.8%.
Eurasian Natural Resources (LON:ENRC) and Vedanta Resources (LON:VED) advanced 3%.
BHP Billiton (LON:BLT), Anglo American (LON:AAL) and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) added just over 2%.
Xstrata (LON:XTA) tacked on 1.8%.
London’s only listed pure iron ore producer Ferrexpo (LON:FXPO) moved with the sector, rising 3.4%. Fellow FTSE 250 constituent Kenmare Resources (LON:KMR), which is developing the Moma titanium minerals mine in Mozambique, outperformed the market, surging 7.2%.
Banks, insurance, private equity
Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) led the banks, climbing 2%.
Barclays (LON:BARC), HSBC (LON:HSBA) and Lloyds (LON:LLOY) posted small gains.
Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) bucked the trend, posting a small loss.
Legal & General (LON:LGEN) emerged atop the insurance sector with a 3% gain.
Car insurer Admiral Group (LON:ADM) and Standard Life (LON:SL) followed, tacking on 2% and 1% respectively.
Aviva (LON:AV), Old Mutual (LON:OML), Prudential (LON:PRU) and RSA Insurance Group (LON:RSA) rose marginally.
Small cap movers
Other notable risers among the small caps included international payment and data processor Planet Payment (LON:PPT) and manufacturer of VoltageMaster Active Energy (LON:AEG), which surged 10% and 7.5% respectively.
Biopharmaceutical company Lipoxen (LON:LPX) advanced 6%.
Domestic gas producer IGas Energy (LON:IGAS) followed, climbing 6.5%.