A smattering of bid speculation, a series of upbeat trading statements, and a number of positive analyst notes put the market in a good mood today.
Argos and Homebase owner Home Retail Group rose 14.75p to 469.75p on vague talk of private equity interest, while water and electricity group United Utilities climbed 10p to 718.5p after suggestions of a possible 880p a share offer from an infrastructure fund.
Miners were also stronger again, with Lonmin still benefiting from talk it could be a £50 a share target for Xstrata. Lonmin jumped 131p to £43.10 while Xstrata was 46p better at £31.04.
Aero engine maker Rolls-Royce rose 12p to 547.5p after it reported an encouraging second quarter. It picked up new customers from the Middle East, US, Europe and Asia, and won $15bn worth of orders at the recent Paris air show. The company's half-year results are due towards the end of this month.
Pub companies were lifted by Greene King announcing a 17% rise in full-year profits and unveiling plans to unlock value in its estate. It is seeking a partner to help it put some of its pubs into a separate property company, and also offered shareholders a £100m special payout. Greene King added 76p to £10.36p while Enterprise Inns rose 13.5p to 687p and Punch Taverns was 42p better at £12.62p. Brewer Scottish & Newcastle managed to recover from early falls to close 0.5p higher at 633p, despite saying operating profits in its UK business had fallen in the first half of the year.
A major mover was software search specialist Autonomy. It jumped 97p to 824p after news it was buying US electronic storage group Zantaz for $375m (£188m). Autonomy placed 12.7m shares at 735p to raise £93.35m towards the purchase price.
"This purchase looks the right kind of deal in that it pushes Autonomy deeper into a specific vertical market," said Panmure Gordon, "although there are likely to be some concerns it has paid a full price."
And retailer Kesa Electricals rose 22.75p to 337p after it confirmed earlier reports in the European press that it had received a number of approaches for its French furniture and electrical chain BUT.
Nick Bubb at Pali International said: "We don't think BUT is a quality business, but it does have £200m of freehold property. Our valuation is £400m. The money could be returned to shareholders or the group could use the proceeds to broaden the geographical porfolio, which is weak compared to DSG, and make acquisitions in Spain, for example.
"This is welcome news and should lift the shares out of their recent doldrums. Note that the non-exec chairman bought stock last Thursday. Follow the bull."
A positive note from UBS lifted speciality chemicals company Croda International 37p to 690.5p. "We think Croda's recent underperformance is providing a good and timely entry point," said the bank's analysts.
In the main European markets took their early cue from a 127-point overnight rise on Wall Street, and an opening rise on the Dow Jones Industrial Average was icing on the cake.
Weak US housing figures suggested the American authorities may have to consider cutting interest rates, which helped keep the pound well above $2.
So by the close the FTSE 100 was up 49.2 points to 6639.8.
Financials were also stronger, with Prudential up 19.5p to 725p and Schroders 35p better at £13.15.
Among the fallers packaging group Mondi - demerged this week from Anglo American - marked its first day as a separate company by slipping 10p to 490p. Credit Suisse began coverage with a neutral rating.
BG Group, the gas group, fell 7.5p to 824p after UBS downgraded from buy to neutral. "We believe the very positive exploration newsflow which we believe has been responsible for much of the recent stock performance is likely to slow," said UBS. "In particular we think several wells will be required on BG's significant Brazilian Tupi discovery before any update on reserves is likely."
An analyst note also did some damage to energy services company John Wood Group. It dropped 5.75p to 336.25p after Goldman Sachs cut its recommendation from neutral to sell and added the company to its "conviction sell list".
Goldman said: "We believe the stronger 2007 performance is now fully reflected in the share price."
Biscuits and pizza maker Northern Foods continued its decline after yesterday's sell note from Citigroup and lost another 3.5p to 110p.
Lower down the market TEG, the green technology company, fell 13p to 113p. A key waste project for Greater Manchester has been delayed from June until September, meaning the company will be unable to recognise profits in this year's accounts.
Support services group Carter & Carter slipped another 3p to 277p in the wake of Friday's profit warning.
But air conditioning specialist Worthington Nicholls was edged up 2p to 113p. Panmure Gordon has cut its price target but this still stands at 175p, down from 220p.
Hichens, Harrison, said to be the City's oldest firm of brokers, added 4.5p to 387.5p. It has spent £1.25m to take its stake in Unicorn Asset Management from below 1% to 9.85%. Unicorn is run by Peter Webb, the respected smaller company investor, and has £308m of funds under management.
Hichens plans to co-brand and market some of Unicorn's funds to its offshore investors, but some traders believe the longer term plan may be a full takeover.
Finally Research Now, the online market research company, slumped 187.5p to 225p. The company said it has identified previously unrecorded costs of £600,000 during the first half, relating to business in the US and Asia.
The company has been through it so far this year. It reported "a tragic incident" at its offices in January, which led to the Metropolitan police requisitioning the site for a month as a major crime scene. Then in February non-executive director Charles Fairburn sold his entire 1.33% stake, at a time when the shares traded at 520p each. And in May it issued a profit warning following the January incident.