At the close of business, the FTSE100 was up 57.11 points at 5,428.15 with the FTSE250 ahead 63.14 points at 10,204.11 and the FTSE Smallcaps 4.72 points better at 2,844.72.

NEW YORK

US stocks made strong gains after better-than-expected employment data but moved back from highs as service sector growth showed a slowdown in August.

In late morning trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 67 points at 10,387, the S&P500 added 8 points at 1,098 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 20 points at 2,220.

LONDON MARKETS

It needed better-than-expected employment data from the US to give investors in London a last boost today, although continuing M&A chatter had kept markets just on the positive side throughout the day.

Temporary power supplier Aggreko was blue chip leader throughout the morning on unsubstantiated bid rumours, up 79p at 1,515p.

Commercial software house Autonomy continued to make ground with the rumour mill suggesting interest from the likes of Microsoft and Oracle may be imminent. Autonomy shares gained 59p at 1,775p.

Telecoms issues were in demand, with Cable & Wireless up 3.15p at 72.95p as rumours persist of US interest, with AT&T in the frame. BT Group added 1.5p at 137.6p and Vodafone rose 1.7p at 159p.