The FTSE 100 share index has hit a one-month high, buoyed by a stronger opening on Wall Street, with Sage leading a technology sector rebound after upbeat results from US peers.
Financial stocks made up many of the top gainers on Thursday but aerospace shares lagged behind, hit by fresh turmoil in the airline sector as United Airlines parent UAL warned it may file for bankruptcy.
By 3.05 p.m., the FTSE 100 index was up 126.5 points, or three per cent, at 4,297.6, recovering all of Wednesday's 101-point fall and touching a peak of 4,325.9 - its highest point since July 12th.
Dealers said investors were motivated by news that US executives had stood by their balance sheets on Wednesday under a government order meant to reassure investors after a spate of accounting irregularities wrecked market sentiment.
Technology stocks were aided by a rally by their US counterparts, as well as a first-quarter profit from US data storage firm Network Appliance and a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss from software company Intuit.
Key risers included Sage, up 9.2 per cent, CMG up six per cent and ARM Holdings 5.8 per cent higher. The FTSE techMARK rose 2.1 per cent.
Aerospace stocks were marked lower, however, after news that UAL, the parent company of the second-largest U.S. airline United, said it might have to file for bankruptcy and concerns over pension shortfalls in the sector.
GKN was down 2.5 per cent, while Rolls-Royce and Smiths Group were both off 1.3 per cent.
BAE Systems was the hardest hit, down 3.3 per cent, after German defence minister Peter Struck raised concerns about future German spending in defence procurement projects in which BAE has a stake.