Bank stocks led the Footsie higher as sentiment improved about the health of the sector.
In a session that brought much-needed calm to investors, NatWest rose 5.7 percent, or 14.6 pence, to 272.4 pence, Barclays gained 5 percent, or 6.78 pence, to 143.14 pence, and Lloyds added 4. 5 percent, or 2.06 pence, to 48.16p.
There were also gains for Standard Chartered (4.7 per cent, or 28.6p, to 643.6p) and HSBC (2.3 per cent, or 12.3p, to 554p).
Rebound: In a trading session that brought much-needed calm to investors, NatWest rose 5.7%, Barclays 5% and Lloyds 4.5%
The rally came one day after a brutal fortnight in which three US banks collapsed and Swiss giant UBS stepped in to bail out arch-rival Credit Suisse.
The crisis in the banking sector has put central banks in sharp focus as they weigh whether to continue with rate hikes to curb inflation or take a breather to ease pressure on the financial system.
The US Federal Reserve will announce its final interest rate decision today and the Bank of England will go tomorrow.
The FTSE 100 rose 1.8 percent, or 132.37 points, to 7536.22 and the FTSE 250 rose 1.5 percent, or 283.97 points, to 18779.1.
Education group Pearson has agreed to sell its online learning services unit to private equity firm Regent. Shares fell 1 percent, or 8.4p, to 831p.
Meanwhile, the Oxford Nanopore Technologies boss suggested it might explore an additional listing as a large number of companies are avoiding London for New York.
The gene sequencing company has lost more than half its value since shares went public at 425p in September 2021 in London.
Chief executive Gordon Sanghera said his company’s London listing is not “irreversible.”
The comments came as the company posted a series of positive results in its first full year as a publicly traded company.
The company said total losses across the business have declined from £167.6m in 2021 to £91m last year. Shares rose 13.8 percent, or 24.4 pence, to 201 pence.
Marketing group 4imprint got a boost after Liberum raised its price target from 5000 pence to 5500p. Shares were up 8.6 percent, or 405p, to 5090p.
Rolls-Royce rose 6.4 percent, or 9.02 pence, to 150 pence after the jet engine maker signed a memorandum of understanding with Fortum, a state-owned Finnish energy company, to work on rolling out small modular reactors in Finland and Sweden.
Things looked good for ScS after the couch and flooring seller said its orders were up 5.7 percent in the seven weeks to March 18. Shares rose 5.4 percent, or 9.75 pence, to 189.75 pence.
Peter Holten Muhlmann, the founder of Trustpilot, will step down as CEO to focus on becoming an evangelist and brand ambassador for the online review website.
The news came as Trustpilot cut its losses from £21.2m in 2021 to £12m last year. The shares, which floated at 265p in March 2021, rose 0.3 percent or 0.25p to 92.75p.
Land development company Henry Boot increased its dividend by 10 per cent after reporting a record profit of £56.1m for 2022.
The company said there were signs that market conditions were improving this year. Shares rose 0.5 percent, or 1 pence, to 225 pence.
Similarly, YouGov saw its profit rise 128 per cent to £21m in the six months to January 31, as the polling firm said UK demand has improved even in the face of the recession. Shares rose 3.4 percent, or 30 pence, to 920 pence.
Zotefoams, which makes the soles of Nike’s high-performance footwear, reported record sales of £127.4 million for 2022. Shares were up 0.6 percent, or 2 pence, to 346 pence.
And Quixant, which makes hardware for the gaming industry, made a record £98.3 million in revenue last year when casinos reopened.
It has proposed changing its name to Nexteq, while keeping Quixant as the gaming brand.
Shares rose 5.7 percent, or 10 pence, to 186 pence yesterday.
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