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After retreating earlier on Tuesday, FTSE rallied back into positive territory in the afternoon following US markets higher after president Trump unveiled more stimulus measures to tackle the virus pandemic.
At 1630, the benchmark FTSE 100 index closed up 2.6% at 5,284.3.
Chile-focused miner Antofagasta climbed 15% to 714.4p, having reported a rise in annual profit on the back of higher copper and gold sales.
Antofagasta also said it was considering cutting capital expenditure in response to coronavirus.
Electronics retailer Dixons Carphone gained 11% to 69.2p as investors embraced its decision to close 531 stores in the UK, resulting in up to 2,900 job losses.
Pharma giant AstraZeneca gained 8.3% to £67.4 after a study showed its lung cancer drug in combination with chemotherapies confirmed a clinically meaningful improvement in survival rates.
Packaging company Mondi added 4.7% to £13.4 after it announced the appointment of former 3i chief executive and Diageo finance head Philip Yea as its new chairman.
Automotive fluid system manufacturer TI Fluid Systems advanced 4.6% to 136p, even as it booked a 7.1% fall in annual profit, owing to a weaker global auto market.
Water and climate management group Polypipe firmed 4% to 485p after it reported a 3.3% rise in annual profit, as it notched higher sales despite 'challenging trading conditions and market uncertainty'.
Polypipe said the coronavirus pandemic had, to date, had no direct impact on its performance, though it was monitoring the situation closely.
Miner Anglo American rose 1.6% to £13.1 after it said it would temporarily slow operations at its Quellaveco copper mine in Peru following government restrictions imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Aviation and engineering group Stobart ascended 1.5% to 39p, on conforming that it had entered into detailed discussions to possibly sell a minority stake in London Southend Airport.
Software and IT services company Softcat slipped 0.4% to 937p, despite having reported a 19% rise in first-half profit, as it expanded the size of its customer base.
Softcat said it had seen no material impact from the spreading coronavirus, but acknowledged the disease created uncertainty for the remainder of its financial year.
Plumbing company Ferguson slid 3% to £50.3, after announcing it could not confirm that it would meet its profit outlook for the year.
The downbeat guidance came as the company reported a fall in 2019 profit amid weaker performance in its businesses across the UK and Canada.
Furniture and flooring retailer ScS fell 4.3% to 146.5p, as it delayed the release of its interim results, while forecasting a swing to a loss.
On a more upbeat note, ScS said its order intake had risen 3.3% on a like-for-like basis for the first seven weeks of the second half to 14 March.
Catering services group Compass dropped 6.3% to 917.6p after it became the next in a long line of companies to issue a coronavirus-inspired profit warning.
Restaurant group Tasty dropped 27% to 2p, having booked a full-year loss after site closures crimped its sales.
Footwear retailer Shoe Zone tumbled 28.7% to 72p with the shock announcement that it planned to cancel a dividend payment that it had already declared earlier in March.
The 8p per share final dividend for 2019 had been deferred and Shoe Zone said it planned to hold a general meeting in May to allow shareholders to vote on a resolution to cancel the payout.