FTSE up 1.5% following Asian equity gains

The FTSE 100 jumped 1.5% this morning, reversing the losses of yesterday afternoon's session.

The gains follow similar moves in Asian markets overnight, which climbed as much as 2.5% higher. London's blue chip index rose 86 points to 5,770 as market sentiment was boosted by a rally in Chinese stocks and the agreement between the EU and IMF on tax hikes and spending cuts to plug Greece's €3.8bn funding gap. Chinese banking stocks moved higher on hopes inflation will ease, leading Asian equities to their first weekly gains in nine weeks, according to Reuters. The Shanghai composite index jumped 2.5%.