At the close of business, the FTSE100 was up 24.2 points at 5,644.63 with the FTSE250 ahead 78.46 points at 10,008.5 and the FTSE Smallcaps 0.92 points higher at 2,882.56.

NEW YORK

US stocks were higher in late morning trade as investors cheered the Fed suggesting it will keep interest rates at record lows for some time yet.

Approaching the close in London, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 45 points at 10,731, the S&P500 rose 7 points at 1,166 and the Nasdaq Composite added 14 points at 2,392.

LONDON MARKETS

Traders in London were perked up by slightly better-than-expected UK unemployment numbers and unsurprised to hear the BoE Monetary Policy Committee decided unanimously to hold UK interest rates this month.

The benign dollar kept metals prices rising this morning, giving the miners a further boost, with Fresnillo the best of them, up 28p at 854p, as silver rose almost 1.5%.

ENRC jumped 11p at 1,177p, Xstrata gained 17.5p at 1,182.5p, Kazakhmys added 36p at 1,532p and Rio Tinto was 65p better at 3,767p.

Oil producers were also in demand as crude topped $82 a barrel on reports that Opec is poised to hold output at present levels. Shell improved 22p at 1,878.5p, helped by an upgrade to buy from hold at Macquarie, BP added 8.3p at 630.7p, raised to buy from add at Oriel, and BG Group improved 1.5p at 1,173p.

DIY was back in favour, with B&Q owner Kingfisher one of the top gainers of the day, ahead 5.4p at 228.4p after being raised to overweight from neutral at HSBC. Peer Home Retail Group climbed 3.2p at 280.8p in sympathy.

Fashion house Next was another retailer to put in a strong performance, gaining 35p at 2,069p, while luxury brand Burberry ticked up 11.5p at 706p.

Selected commercial property firms took heart from news that London office specialist Derwent London slashed losses in 2009, with Liberty International up 1.7p at 483.9p and Hammerson rallying 2.5p at 387.5p.

Enterprise software giant Autonomy jumped to the top of the leaderboard, up 79p at 1,815p, following the launch a new customer profiling tool for retailers.

Other notable blue chip success stories came from oil services firm Petrofac, ahead 14p at 1,216p, precious metals processor Johnson Matthey, up 23p at 1,761p, and engineering group Smiths, 5p higher at 1,075p.

On the downside with blue chips, security firm G4S continued on offer, the biggest FTSE faller, down a further 13.3p at 255.9p after yesterday's disappointing numbers.

British Airways drifted lower on reports that the imminent cabin crew strike was set to take on an international dimension as the Unite union attempts to rally support. BA shares slipped 5.2p at 240.8p.

Hedge fund manager Man Group eased 9p at 237.3p after the EU delayed a decision on regulation, seen by many analysts as little more than a stay of execution. The firm was additionally hit by a downgrade to add from buy at Numis.

Household goods giants Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser were under pressure, losing 13p at 1,943p and 24p at 3,480p, respectively.

Other notable blue chip casualties included holiday operator Thomas Cook, 7.1p weaker at 244.9p and insurer Standard Life, off 8.4p at 208.3p, both turning ex-dividend today.

In the midcaps, confirmation from bus and train operator Arriva that it has received a bid approach gave the shares a major leg up, ahead 97.5p (16.8%) at 677p. The news also boosted sector peers, with FirstGroup gaining 10.9p at 379.5p, Stagecoach 5.9p better at 187.1p and National Express up 6.6p at 225p.

Story provided by Business Financial Newswire