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UK stocks ended a shortened trading week at their high on Thursday in anticipation of a government decision to lift some of the lockdown restrictions over the weekend or by early next week.
At 4.35pm the FTSE 100 was up 1.3% to 5,932 points, led by a mixture of insurers, miners and software stocks.
RSA was a major gainer, adding 6.6% to 394p after it posted better than expected first quarter earnings, with operating earnings up double digit percentages, and said it was performing resiliently so far this quarter.
Fellow insurer Phoenix Group gained 6.5% to 607p, while mining conglomerate Anglo American added 6.7% to £14.63 and software firm Aveva rose 5.7% to £39.19.
InterContinental Hotels improved 6.2% to £36.45 despite warning of a deeper slump in revenue per room in April after occupancy levels dropped to 'historic lows' in March and April.
The FTSE 250 mid-cap index rose 1.4% to 16,201 points with large gains for cinema operator Cineworld, up 16% to 61.2p, technology reseller Computacenter up 7% to £15.11 and electrical retailer Dixons Carphone up 6.4% to 74.5p.
3i Infrastructure added 5.6% to 267p as it raised its annual dividend after reporting a rise in annual income and return.
Morgan Sindall climbed 4% to £12.54 as the construction and regeneration group reported that trading and activity has been significantly impacted across all divisions since the first 10 weeks of the year and that it had placed 1,700 employees on furlough.
On the losing side was telecom giant BT which tumbled 7.6% to 105.5p after announcing it had scrapped its 2019 and 2020 dividends.
The company said it would resume payment at a lower rate as it sought to firm up liquidity after reporting a fall in annual profit amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Its share price fall came as Virgin Media and O2 confirmed they are set to merge.
British-airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group was another big loser, down 5.6% to 185.5p as it swung to a loss in the first quarter and warned of a further deterioration in performance in the second quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic brought aviation travel to a halt.
Aerospace engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce slumped 2.2% to 287p after it warned of 'significant disruption' to the civil aerospace industry due to Covid-19, saying it may take 'several years' to recover.