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LONDON (AFP) –
Leading shares recorded strong gains on Tuesday, led by miners, as investors snapped up bargains and were comforted by news of a successful Spanish government bond sale.
The FTSE 100 index of leading companies closed 2.93 percent higher at 4,965 points.
The bond sale in Madrid was taken as a modest vote of confidence in Spain and the euro, supporting the currency against the dollar after the key US services sector slowed more than expected in June.
Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) was the most traded stock, seeing 152 million shares switch owners, followed by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which saw 95.9 million units change hands.
Antofagasta led the blue chip risers, adding 7.56 percent -- or 57.5 pence -- to end at 818.5, followed by fellow miner Kazakhmys, which was up 7.18 percent -- or 69.5 pence -- to end at 1,037.
Gold miner African Barrick led the fallers, shedding 2.75 percent -- or 16.5 pence -- to end at 584, followed by multimedia publisher Pearson, which lost 0.17 percent -- or 1.5 pence -- to end at 886.
Meanwhile, the pound rose against the dollar but fell against the euro.
At 1711 BST, the pound was trading at 1.518 dollars, up from 1.511 at the same time Monday, while sterling stood at 1.199 euros, down from 1.206 over the same period.
