A wave of positive sentiments helped Britain’s FTSE 100 yesterday to gain 35.2 points to close at 5437.6, the highest level since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008.
  
It was the biggest annual rise since 1997. For the year a s whole the index was up by 22 per cent.

Commenting on the issue, Capital Spreads’ CEO Simon Denham, said, “The 5,400 barrier has definitely gone and initial action on the off this morning saw a spike in the FTSE futures pushing the index up to 5450 as weak shorts were squeezed.”

Miners drove the blue-chip index. The benchmark 3-month copper contract jumped 1.9 per cent to $7,273 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange. Copper miner Antofagasta gained the most 37p to close at 972.5p.

However, the silver & gold miner Fresnillo slipped 2p to close at 791.5p.

Liberty International surged 24p to 510.5p, while British Land added 14.3p to close at 462.3p.

Shares in Tui Travel closed at 253p, up 5.5p.

HSBC gained 5.2p to 713.7p, while Aviva finished trading at 398.7p, up 10.6p.

Separately, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nikkei also performed well. The DAX in Germany jumped above 6,000 points, the highest level since Lehmans’ collapse.