Traders started the week in a good mood, cheered by surveys suggesting the UK may not fall into a double dip recession.
The CBI and PwC financial services survey released this morning showed that business volumes have increased for the eighth quarter running – at a higher than average pace. Separately, the latest quarterly survey of leading finance directors by Deloitte shows that those still fearful of two successive quarters of contraction dropped to 30% from 54% at the end of last year.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 5802, while the mid-cap index was 0.4% higher at 11,588.5.
Russian steel-maker Evraz, which is part-owned by Roman Abramovich, was the biggest riser, up by almost 4% at 384p, regaining levels it enjoyed last week before missing earnings forecasts by 31%.
It led the miners higher with copper group Kazakhmys up 2.6% at 930p, silver miner Fresnillo 2.7% higher at £16.41, and Rio Tinto up 2.2% at £35.22.
