Wall Street's third consecutive three-figure rise on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, news that the Bundesbank had left German interest rates on hold and a steep rise in BT stock provided the impetus behind another positive performance by London's equity market.
But lingering worries about the possibility of a further rise in British interest rates not too far down the road, and a fairly sharp sell-off on Wall Street at the start of trading in New York yesterday, took much of the edge off British shares.
At the close of trading, the FTSE 100 index was left with a 19.6 gain at 4,978.0, a three-day rise of 143.0.
The other FTSE indices also made progress although the FTSE Mid-250 struggled to keep its head above water during a difficult afternoon session, which saw many engineering and export-driven stocks under pressure.
The Mid-250 index closed only marginally up on the day, settling 0.6 firmer at 4,688.0, having come within 3.4 of the 4,700 level shortly after the start of trading.
The FTSE SmallCap, left behind by its senior brethren over the past couple of years, ended the day 8.1 higher at 2,259.0, less than a full point off its session high of 2,259.4, reached in mid-afternoon.
Market-makers said London's resilience reflected its under-performance against Wall Street and most other European markets over the past year.
"We're getting used to bigger and bigger movements on Wall Street, but equally we're getting used to similarly big rallies, although there is always the worry that the next fall may not be followed by a quick recovery," said one market-maker.
Although concerned at the recent sell-off, he said there was evidence that the big institutions were still happy to push money into the market.
