The slump in world markets following President Obama's re-election drew out bargain-hunters today during a steadier session for the FTSE 100 Index.
The mood was helped by relief that the Greek parliament got its latest austerity measures through by a narrow margin, resulting in a better performance for European markets as the FTSE 100 Index rose 24.4 points to 5815.8.
The top flight closed 93 points lower last night and the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished more than 2% down amid fears that the US election will be followed by a drawn-out battle over the country's looming fiscal cliff.
Tesco was the biggest top flight riser, up 5.6p to 327.8p, in a session when rival Morrisons announced a 2.1% drop in quarterly underlying sales. The Bradford-based chain has been left trailing as competitors wage war through promotional deals, leaving its shares 2.8p lower at 264.7p.
Aviva rose 4.65p to 333.2p after it said it was in talks over the sale of the company's US life and annuities businesses, part of chairman John McFarlane's programme of "significant change" at the insurer.
Outside the top flight, JD Wetherspoon was 5.5p higher at 518p as analysts at N+1 Singer moved their rating on the pubs chain to buy following a 7.1% rise in like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to October 28.
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