BANKING and insurance stocks were back in favour today as hopes grew of an imminent solution to Greece’s debt crisis.

The return to riskier assets meant the FTSE 100 Index climbed 27 points to 5138.9, while the Dax and Cac 40 were also up by almost 1% in Europe.

This followed speculation that eurozone countries will come up with a plan to help Greece as it battles to head off a potential sovereign default.

A stronger session in New York also helped markets after the Dow Jones Industrial Average returned above the 10,000 barrier following a gain of 1.5%.

In London, insurer Aviva set the pace with a rise of 14.2p to 358.7p, while Lloyds Banking Group added 1.7p to 49.9p and Legal & General cheered 1.5p to 71.7p.

Reckitt Benckiser was more than 2% higher after the household products group posted fourth quarter and full-year figures which were in line with expectations. The company, which also revealed it expected revenues growth of 5% this year, saw shares rise 70p to 3024p.

Outside the top flight, Trinity Mirror shares were 6% higher after yesterday’s deal to buy regional newspapers belonging to Guardian Media Group. Shares rose 7.6p to 143.1p.