FTSE on the rise

The FTSE 100 Index powered to gains of more than 1% today despite investors dumping shares in Prudential for the second session in a row.

The prospect of a £14bn (€15.42bn) rights issue to pay for its Asian expansion sent the insurer down 8% on top of a 12% plunge yesterday.

But the wider market rose 78.1 points to 5484.1 helped by rising commodity prices, hopes of a bail-out for debt-burdened Greece and brighter economic news in Asia.

Wall Street also advanced in early trading as sentiment was buoyed by further takeover activity although economic data was thin on the ground.

The pound, meanwhile, remained below £1.50 against the dollar, having fallen under the benchmark for the first time in 10 months yesterday due to concerns about the political outlook. Sterling was steady at £1.10 against the euro.

Among stocks, the Pru fell 42.5p to 487.5p to hit a seven-month low after dropping 12% yesterday in the wake of the £23.5bn (€25.9bn) approach for the Asian division of stricken US insurer AIG.

Motor insurance group Admiral fell more than 3%, or 42p to 1223p, despite news of a 7% hike in annual profits.

However, investors are likely to have booked profits after strong gains for the group's shares in recent weeks.

Another insurance major - Aviva - was in positive territory ahead of its annual results later this week. Shares lifted 4p to 379.2p.

Banks also littered the risers board as the sector's reporting season draws to a close, despite HSBC's lower than expected profits of $7.1 (€5.2bn) yesterday.

HSBC recovered some of yesterday losses to stand 18.6p higher at 700.6p, with Asian-facing group Standard Chartered up 64.5p to 1590p ahead of its results tomorrow. Royal Bank of Scotland rose 1.1p to 37.7p and Barclays was 9.7p dearer at 321.8p. Lloyds Banking Group was 1.2p better at 51.4p.

Elsewhere, the strong start to the week for temporary power supply firm Aggreko continued after yesterday's news that it had secured a major contract at this year's FIFA World Cup. Shares rose another 14p to 1048p today.

Outside the top flight, Persimmon shares rose 23.8p to 424.4p after the housebuilder posted a return to the black in 2009 and said sales were up 7% since the start of the year. It is also looking for an improvement in its operating margin after an upturn in house prices.

But sub-prime lender Provident Financial dropped more than 5% in the FTSE 250, or 52.5p to 919.5p, as it said profits dropped by more than 2% in 2009 and gave a cautious outlook on customer appetite for borrowing in 2010.

The biggest Footsie risers were British Airways up 13.1p at 225.5p, Icap up 15.2p at 343p, Fresnillo up 35p at 817.5p and Standard Chartered up 64.5p at 1590p.

The biggest Footsie fallers were Prudential down 42.5p at 487.5p, Admiral down 42p at 1223p, Vedanta Resources off 87p at 2554p and Rolls-Royce down 8p at 554p.