Stronger growth in the UK economy and takeover plans for More Than owner RSA Insurance saw the London market break a run of heavy falls.

Figures revealing the UK grew by 0.7% in the second quarter marked a sharp pick-up on the 0.4% seen in the first three months of the year, helping boost market sentiment and sending the pound higher.

With RSA surging by as much as 18% and well-received figures from the likes of ITV and Next, the FTSE 100 Index rose 50.2 points to 6555.3.

A lengthy losing streak had wiped out gains so far this year on the top tier as stocks suffered amid the Greek debt crisis and fears over economic growth in China, with the FTSE 100 down another 75 points yesterday.

Asian markets were volatile again overnight after Shanghai stocks fell the most in eight years the previous session, with the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong up 0.6% today, but the Shanghai Composite Index suffering further falls, down 1%.

Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said: "The preliminary second quarter UK GDP figure came in at an as expected 0.7% this morning, allowing the FTSE some breathing room following the red dread that filled Monday's trading."

Sterling also responded to the GDP figures, lifting against most major currencies, up a cent to 1.41 euros and edging up to just over 1.56 US dollars.

RSA led the session's bounce back, racing 80.7p higher to 518.5p, after Swiss rival Zurich Insurance confirmed it was considering a bid for the group following recent speculation, sparking a rally across the insurance sector.

Car insurer Admiral was 30p higher at 1496p and Direct Line Insurance lifted 8.9p to 364.9p.

Broadcaster ITV was another riser, up 6.5p to 270.2p after a better-than-expected 25% hike in half-year underlying profits to £391 million, which offset figures revealing its worst audience numbers for at least 15 years.

A profits upgrade from Next also put the fashion retailer on the leader board, up 205p to 7705p, after warm weather boosted sales.

Royal Mail was the biggest top-flight faller after regulator Ofcom said its provisional view was that the postal giant broke competition law when it tried to change the way it charged rivals such as Whistl for use of its network.

Shares fell more than 3% or 17.3p to 486.7p.

Blue chip major BP was 1% or 5.4p higher at 392.7p despite posting hefty half-year losses of 4.2 billion US dollars (£2.7 billion) after taking another 9.8 billion dollar (£6.3 billion) hit from its Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.

Falling oil prices added to the woes, with underlying profits excluding the Gulf of Mexico charge also sharply lower - at 3.9 billion dollars (£2.5 billion) against 6.9 billion dollars (£4.4 billion) a year earlier.

But the group offered some good news from its downstream arm - which includes refining and marketing - as earnings from the division jumped nearly 75% year-on-year in the second quarter.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were RSA Insurance up 80.7p at 518.5p, Hikma Pharmaceuticals up 241p at 2321p, GKN up 21.6p at 316.6p and Johnson Matthey up 103p at 2848p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 Index were Royal Mail down 17.3p at 486.7p, Babcock International down 22p at 1038p, Morrisons down 1.8p at 179.6p and Tesco down 1.9p at 212.4p.