FTSE up more than 1%
World markets took another step in their recovery today after a multi-billion dollar deal in the telecoms sector boosted confidence.
In a move that propelled mobile phone giant Vodafone to the top of London's risers board, Germany's Deutsche Telekom said it had agreed to sell T-Mobile USA to AT&T for $39bn (€27.5bn).
The return of major acquisition activity gave a lift to markets after a week dogged by worries over Libya and Japan's nuclear crisis.
The FTSE 100 Index ended a six-day losing streak on Thursday and climbed another 70.2 points to 5788.3 today - a rise of more than 1%.
This was despite reports suggesting Japan's nuclear woes were far from over, while the World Bank estimated the devastating earthquake and tsunami has caused $235bn (€165.7bn) of damage and will take five years to rebuild.
Oil prices jumped once more after a second night of allied strikes in Libya, where Colonel Gaddafi vowed to fight a "long war". London Brent crude rose to near 116 dollars a barrel.
Banks and commodity stocks were among the biggest beneficiaries of the market's fightback from recent volatility.
Barclays rose 3% or 8.45p to 290.5p, while Fresnillo led the charge in the mining sector with a 26p gain to 1468p.
With Vodafone owning a 45% stake in operator Verizon, investors flocked to the UK firm's shares on hopes of further consolidation in the United States and following the removal of another player from the market.
Shares were 4% higher - up 6.9p to 176.8p.
A raft of hard-hitting measures from energy watchdog Ofcom to improve service among the "big six" suppliers caused barely a ripple for shares in power firms.
British Gas owner Centrica was down 1.5p to 327.2p and Scottish & Southern Energy fell half a penny to 1233.5p, while elsewhere in the sector National Grid dropped 9.75p to 567.25p.
And in its first session in the FTSE 100 Index, fund manager Hargreaves Lansdown slipped 1.25p to 625.75p.
Indian energy firm Essar Energy was the biggest faller, down 6% or 28.4p to 446.6p, with analysts raising concerns over its outlook despite strong full-year figures.
Outside the top flight, shares in serviced office provider Regus jumped 12% - 12.3p to 122.8p - despite posting a fall in full-year profits. With the FTSE 250 firm claiming it had emerged stronger from the recession, Regus raised its full-year dividend by 8% to 2.6p.
