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The FTSE 100 was up 0.9% to 7,611.67 by lunchtime and on course for a very positive start to 2020 as investors responded to measures to boost the Chinese economy.
Resources firms, sensitive to what is happening in China given the country's heavy consumption of commodities, were among the top performers.
LARGE AND MID CAP RISERS AND FALLERS
Wealth manager Quilter followed the UK's flagship index higher, rising 1% to 162.7p after announcing the completion of the disposal of Quilter Life Assurance to ReAssure Group for a total cash consideration of c.£445m.
Tullow Oil has tumbled 6.3% to 60p after reporting a discovery at its Carapa-1 exploration well.
The company said it had encountered approximately four metres of net oil pay based on preliminary interpretation, lower than pre-drill forecasts.
CRH has bounced 1.4% to £30.84 after confirming that Richie Boucher has become chairman of the board.
Boucher officially took over as chairman on 1 January 2020, succeeding N. Hartery who stepped down from the board on 31 December 2019.
Intellectual property business IP Group has climbed 3.7% to 73.6p on the news that its portfolio holding Oxford Nanopore has completed a £109.5m financing and it will realise £22m cash from a partial sale of its holding in the business.
IP Group also announced that cash realisations during 2019 totalled more than £75m compared to the £30m achieved in 2018.
Iron ore company Ferrexpo gained 0.7% to 160.1p as it announced a special interim dividend of 6.6 US cents which will be paid on 17 January 2020 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 10 January 2020.
SMALL CAP RISERS AND FALLERS
Energy firm Eqtec was up 73.9% to 0.2p as it said it had finalised and signed the legal documentation which allows the financial close of the proposed construction and operation of a 2 megawatt biomass plant at the North Folk project in the US.
Restaurant operator Tasty gained 33.2% to 3.64p as it confirmed trading was in line with expectations.