Market Update: Shares extend early gains as confidence returns

Share prices continue to bask in Wall Street's overnight optimism and by 10am the FTSE 100 index was up 64 pointsat 4,254 and the Mid-250 index 162 points higher at 7,520 as investors' confidence slowly returned.

Banks remained the top performers on the growing view that the worst of the financial crisis was behind them

Royal Bank of Scotland at 41.70p, Barclays 285p and Lloyds 114p, posted gains of between 4.9p and 28.25p.

Miners consolidated their earlier gains on the back of robust production figures from Kazakhmys at 539p, up 28p and Anglo American Gold, 50p better at £14.92.

BG Group stood out in a firm oil sector with a jump of 42p to £11.19 after solid first-quarter figures.

Elsewhere Whitbread rose 30p to 936p, helped by a positive note from Morgan Stanley, but a disappointing fall in life and pensions sales left Standard Life at 188.4p,  off 4.3p.

Cadbury also remained depressed at 496p, down 12.5p after forecasting lower revenue growth.

The threat of a swine flu pandemic weighed on Intercontinental Hotels at 641.5p, down 18.5p, and recent strength in defensive issues gave way to profit-taking, with AB Foods at 719p and Severn Trent £10.58, down around 10p.

Favourable trading updates benefited BBA Aviation at 102p, McBride 136.5p and William Hill 219.25p, up 7.5p to 12p and recent upbeat announcements underpinned N Brown at 246.5p, Bdycote 138.5p, Charter International 500p and Aquarius Platinum 260p, up 8p to 35p.

Forth Ports, reporting tomorrow, slipped 8.5p to 976.5p., but Taylor Wimpeyadded 2.5p to 47p as UBS raised its target price to 50p from 22p.