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UK stocks rallied further in the afternoon session after the US non-farm payrolls data was stronger than expected with 136,000 jobs created.
At 1635, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 54.04 points, or 0.75%, at 7,302.42.
BHP gained 2.4% to £16.73 after it approved $44m for work needed to restart a concentrator at the Samarco mine in Brazil, the site of a catastrophic dam failure in 2015.
Telecom giant Vodafone gained 0.7% to 155.5p on announcing that it had formed a strategic partnership with sustainable phone maker Fairphone to offer its products to retail customers in Europe.
Steel supplier Evraz shed 0.2% in the morning session, but rallied in the afternoon following better than expected US jobs data, to finish up 3.4% at 379.6p as it reported a fall in crude steel production, owing to scheduled maintenance and weaker demand.
Auto dealer Lookers reversed 18.1% to 40.63p after it sounded a shock profit warning and announced the departures of chief executive Andy Bruce and chief operating officer Nigel McMinn.
Inter-dealer broker TP ICAP rose 6.5% to 365p as its revenue grew 17% in the third quarter, though it stuck to its guidance of more subdued growth over the full year.
Pest control company Rentokil Initial fell 0.3% to 453.2p on announcing that it had acquired Florida Pest Control, for an undisclosed sum.
Scottish television broadcaster STV added 1.2% to 388p after it launched its set-top boxes on Sky.
Aviation support services provider BBA Aviation climbed 1.9% to 309.4p on announcing that the return to shareholders generated by the sale of its Ontic division would be at the top end of previous guidance.