FTSE 100 up 1.7%; JD Wetherspoon surges after growth in comparable sales
U.K. shares jumped higher in the final session of the week, with banks and insurance stocks leading a broad-based rise.
Among banking stocks, Barclays rose 6.8% and Lloyds Banking Group climbed around 5%.
In the insurance sector, Old Mutual (UK:OML: news , chart , profile ) added 6% and Prudential (UK:PRU: news , chart , profile ) gained 4.3%.
More broadly, the main U.K. FTSE 100 Index (UK:UKX: news , chart , profile ) climbed 1.7%, or 61.85 points, to 3,773.91.
Financial stocks helped drive gains of between 3.5% and 4.1% on the main U.S. indexes Thursday after Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis said the group will post a profit in 2009 and won't need further government funding.
Among other sectors, mining stocks moved higher and drugmakers also gained, with AstraZeneca up 1.7% and GlaxoSmithKline up 1.3%.
Pub chain JD Wetherspoon (UK:JDW: news , chart , profile ) climbed 10.3% in early trading after it announced that comparable sales in the six weeks to March 8 rose 1.9% and total sales rose 5.6%.
Profit in the six months to Jan. 26 was down 5.5%, but revenue for the period was around 6.5% higher.
Shares in rival pub operator and brewer Greene King (UK:GNK: news , chart , profile ) climbed around 4%.
SABMiller (UK:SAB: news , chart , profile ) climbed 2.5% after it announced that its CR Snow joint venture in China has agreed to acquire the brewing assets of Shangdong Hupo Brewery in a $42 million deal.
Outside the top index, shares in Irish media group Independent News & Media (UK:INM: news , chart , profile ) surged around 50% after the newspaper publisher said CEO Anthony O'Reilly will retire on May 7.
Anthony O'Reilly is the largest shareholder in the firm -- which publishes The Independent newspaper in the U.K. -- with a 28.5% stake. He will be succeeded by Gavin O'Reilly, currently chief operating officer.
