UK and European markets were all in recovery mode on Wednesday. Investors seemed to have regained their composure after yesterday's sell-off, which was sparked by inconclusive Italian election results.
"The 'everything must go' mentality of traders over the last couple of days has disappeared and, as has happened after every other market correction in the last year, the buyers have crept back in," said Alastair McCaig, a market analyst at IG.
In London, the benchmark FTSE 100 index pushed up by 55 points, or 0.9%, to close at 6,326. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index rose by 89 points, or 0.7%, to close at 13,625.
Engineer Weir Group (WEIR) was the main company leading the UK large-cap index forward after reporting some better-than-expecting full-year results for 2012 and announcing that it was hiking its dividend by 15%. Investors bid up shares in the company by nearly 7.5%.
Meanwhile, Petrofac (PFC) was on the losing end of the FTSE 100 index. Shares in the oil services company dropped by just over 6% after issuing a vague market outlook that unnerved investors.
UK GDP Contracts
On the economic front, the Office for National Statistics reported that UK gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2012. The Office for National Statistics had initially estimated that GDP contracted by 0.3%, so this number was unrevised.
"A revision in the third and final reading cannot be disregarded however given the historical trend of revisions that have been seen to preliminary UK GDP readings. There was little market reaction to the release however," said Joshua Raymond, chief market strategist at City Index.
To see the top winners and losers on the FTSE 100 each day, check out Morningstar's Heat Map.