Global markets have steadied after a volatile start to the week as latest developments in China calmed investors.
The FTSE 100 Index rose 24.8 points to 6083.3 having fallen by nearly 200 points, or three per cent, in the previous session.
Germany's Dax and France's Cac 40 also climbed while Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average was ahead at the time of the close in London.
Markets have been plunged into volatility over the last couple of weeks amid fears over a slowdown in China's economy, and spooked by a dramatic slide in its main share index.
The Shanghai composite index appeared to set the course for more turbulence when it opened 4.4 per cent lower in the latest session but later pared back the losses to finish just 0.2 per cent down.
There were reports of renewed efforts by the Beijing government to shore up stocks.
It was the last day of trading ahead of a two-day holiday in China to celebrate Japan's defeat in World War Two.
Spreadex market analyst Connor Campbell said the holiday would "provide a moment of respite for volatility-weary investors".
In the UK, data from the construction sector showed that an increase in house building helped the overall industry to a modest improvement last month.
But the reading of 57.3 for August on the latest Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) - where 50 separates growth from contraction - indicated that expansion remains below robust levels seen last year.
The pound was unchanged against the US dollar at 1.53 and a cent higher against the euro at just over 1.36.
Among stocks, Halfords fell nearly nine per cent or 43.8p to 466.2p in the FTSE 250 Index after warning over a bike sales slump in its peak selling season, and despite reassuring that half-year profits were expected to be broadly in line with forecasts.
Online retailer ASOS was also lower after confirming chief executive Nick Robertson has stepped down with immediate effect from the company he founded 15 years ago.
Mr Robertson becomes a non-executive director and will be replaced by current chief operating officer Nick Beighton. Shares fell nearly three per cent, or 84p, to 2900p.
In the FTSE 100, industrial equipment hire group Ashtead led the risers after posting a 23 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £155.4 million for the first-quarter to the end of July and saying it expected full-year results in line with expectations.
Shares rose nearly eight per cent, or 71p, to 988p.
Elsewhere, oil firms remained under pressure as the price of a barrel of Brent crude continued to hover below 50 US dollars. BP fell 4.1p to 345.3p while Royal Dutch Shell slid 5.5p to 1640.5p.
The biggest risers in the FTSE 100 Index were Ashtead up 71p to 988p, Hikma Pharmaceuticals up 97p to 2322p, Inmarsat up 32p to 998.5p and 3i Group up 13.5p to 472.7p.
The biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 Index were Glencore down 10.7p to 122.8p, Randgold Resources down 96p to 3830p, CRH down 23p to 1857p and G4S down 3p to 248.8p.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here