Bold moves by the US Federal Reserve to kickstart the country's economic recovery gave a confidence boost to investors worldwide today.
The FTSE 100 Index mirrored the reaction of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which closed 1.5% higher last night, by jumping 85.5 points to 5905.4.
Miners jumped by as much as 10% in London as investors bet that the Fed's decision to pump 40 billion dollars a month (£24.8 billion) into the world's biggest economy will trigger a revival in global demand.
Evraz set the pace in the FTSE 100 Index, up 26.1p to 285.45p, while silver miner Fresnillo lifted 152p to 1855p and Rio Tinto cheered 188.5p to 3267.5p.
Barclays rose 9.4p to 227.4p in the banking sector and Royal Bank of Scotland added 9.9p to 283.8p as it fired the starting gun on its flotation of Direct Line Group, which owns the brands Churchill and Privilege.
In a session of slim pickings for corporate results, pubs group JD Wetherspoon took centre stage with full-year profits of £58.9 million, a drop of 4.1%.
Shares jumped nearly 6%, up 26.05p to 486.65p, as its pubs showing the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games helped like-for-like sales jump 8.4% in the six weeks to September 9, with total sales up 12.8%.
ends
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