Among the blue chips, Natwest added 2.2 per cent, or 9.6p, to 453.3p, HSBC ascended by 2.5 per cent, or 21.8p, to 899.5p, Standard Chartered rose 2.1 per cent, or 24.5p, to 1201p, and Lloyds advanced 1.9 per cent, or 1.3p, to 68.62p, but Barclays inched down 0.6 per cent, or 1.9p, to 296.85p.
BAE Systems rose 4.7 per cent, or 61p, to 1366p after Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to raise defence spending in the UK from 2.3 per cent of GDP to 2.5 per cent by 2027.
Shares in troubled Wood Group rose almost 10 per cent in early trading following a jump of more than 40 per cent in the previous session as it is once again became a takeover target.
But Smith & Nephew brought better news yesterday, reporting a 7.8 per cent rise in revenues for the final three months of the year, helping push annual profits up 55 per cent to £520million.
That was music to the ears of investors, and the shares rose 10 per cent in early trading before ending the day up 6.1 per cent, or 64p, to 1107.5p.
