By Holly Williams and Roger Baird, Press Association City Staff
Retail chain Mothercare boosted UK sales in a sign that its turnaround is gathering pace, following a surge in online trading and a delayed end-of-season promotion.
The group, which also owns the Early Learning Centre brand, saw a 20.4% jump in online sales in the 13 weeks to October 10, helping overall UK like-for-like sales rise by 6.5%.
London's FTSE 100 Index rose 27.9 points to 6376.3, shrugging off the impact of a number of stocks turning ex-dividend - meaning new shareholders are no longer entitled to the latest payout.
France's Cac 40 and Germany's DAX were also both more than 2% higher.
In New York the Dow Jones industrial Average was more than 200 points higher in early trading, driven by strong corporate earnings from McDonald's and eBay.
The pound rose two cents against the euro to 1.38, after European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said the bank will consider increasing its monetary stimulus at its next meeting in December from its current 1.1 trillion euro (£805 billion) level. Sterling was little changed against the US dollar to 1.54.
Mothercare chief executive Mark Newton-Jones said efforts to revamp the mother-and-baby retailer were paying off, but added "there is much more to be done". Shares rose 15.8p to 238.8p.
Department store chain Debenhams was also in sharp focus after boss Michael Sharp announced plans to step down in 2016 as the group reported its first annual profits rise for four years.
The FTSE 250-listed retailer insisted Mr Sharp had always intended to step down after a five-year tenure, but the decision comes after pressure from shareholders unhappy with its performance in recent years.
Debenhams was among the biggest gainers in the second tier after the results showed a 2.9% rise in underlying pre-tax profits to £113.5 million for the 12 months to August 29.
He will remain in the role throughout the key Christmas trading season and will step down "some time in 2016" after helping find his successor. Shares lifted more than 3%, or 2.7p, to 83.8p.
In the top flight, Wickes DIY chain parent Travis Perkins was the biggest faller, down 6% or 118p to 1845p, as it warned annual earnings growth will be at the lower end of forecasts after "recent market weakness".
Elsewhere, estate agent Foxtons blamed strong house price growth and the effect of stamp duty reforms for low levels of sales in the central London housing market.
The London-focused chain, which runs 58 branches, said its earnings lifted 15.5% to £16.4 million in the third quarter of the year to September 30 compared with a year ago, adding that central London transactions are at historically low levels and are taking time to recover. Shares fell 8%, or 18.5p, to 203p.
The biggest risers in the FTSE 100 index were Glencore up 6.6p at 117.1p, Ashtead Group up 37p at 987p, GKN up 9.6p at 287.5p and Vodafone up 7.1p at 215.1p.
The biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 index were Travis Perkins down 118p at 1845p, Pearson down 48.5p at 950p, Kingfisher down 15.4p at 351p and Smiths Group down 27p at 984p.
ends
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