BLUE-chip stocks continued their bounce back today as bargain-hunters shrugged off uncertainties over Libya and Japan’s nuclear crisis.
London’s FTSE 100 Index added another 1.2%, up 71.2 points to 5789.3, following strong overnight gains in Asia.
However, reports suggested Japan’s nuclear woes were far from over, while the World Bank estimated the devastating earthquake and tsunami has caused 235 billion US dollars 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 fight back from recent volatility.
Barclays rose 2% or 6.9p to 289p, while Fresnillo led the charge in the mining sector with a 31p gain to 1473p.
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.
Centrica was down 0.15p to 328.25p and Scottish & Southern Energy fell 1p to 1233p, while elsewhere in the sector National Grid dropped 4p to 573p.
Indian energy firm Essar Energy was the biggest faller, down 4% or 19.2p to 455.9p, with analysts raising concerns over its outlook despite strong full-year figures.
