Shares in London rallied for a third day, with a strong report on US durable goods orders allaying fears that the world's largest economy is sliding back into recession.
The data outweighed a sharp drop in German business confidence, the biggest decline since the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers collapse in late 2008. The FTSE 100 index yo-yoed, then climbed 80 points to 5210, a 1.6% gain, by mid-afternoon. It lost more than 5% last week amid global recession fears. Germany's Dax rose 3.2% on Wednesday, while France's CAC was up 2.25%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones edged 11 points higher to 11188.
Gains on the FTSE were led by Man Group, which leapt 10% after HSBC recommmended the hedge fund manager. Advertising giant WPP, which reported better-than-expected profits, rose 7%.
Among the biggest losers were car insurer Admiral, which insures more than 1 in 10 cars in Britain, as a rise in the loss ratio outweighed record profits, and outsourcing firm Serco, which warned of headwinds in its core UK and US markets. Admiral slumped 12% to £13.49 while Serco was down 5.7% at 501.5p.
