Warning of post-Christmas hangover for pubs But they were more confident on Greene King, down 1.1 to 492.1p, and The Restaurant Group, up 5.2 to 296.6p. Having earlier made merry amid revived hopes that Greece could yet strike a debt-swap deal, thereby fending off a disorderly default, poor consumer confidence data from the US later took the shine off those gains. Nonetheless, the FTSE 100 still put on 10.52 points to 5,681.61, while the FTSE 250 rose 75.18 points to 10,769.35. That meant the benchmark index finished the month up 2pc, managing its best monthly showing since October. Fuelling the large-cap rebound were the oil explorers and producers, which were buoyed by a jump in the price of Brent crude as traders continued to fret over the potential for supply problems. BP climbed 12.4 to 470.85p, while Tullow Oil advanced 49p to £13.90, despite Investec cutting its rating to "hold." BG Group gained 21p to £14.25. Robust results from a clutch of blue-chips also heartened investors. After their figures trumped City expectations, microchip designer ARM Holdings advanced 12 to 609½p. Broadcaster BSkyB climbed 24½ to 690p as its half-year figures pleased the City. Utility groups National Grid and SSE heated up after posting positive trading updates, climbing 18½ to 632p and 14p to £12.23 respectively. Aggreko, which will provide temporary power for this year's Olympics, stood 36p higher at £20.95 after Arbuthnot kicked off coverage with a "buy" rating. "We believe the strong performance in the last quarter reaffirms the robustness of the drivers for the business and how well calibrated it is to the needs of its clients, both in the developing and developed economies," said analysts. Leading the charge, however, was Admiral Group with the motor insurer accelerating 46½ to 941p. But, the banks did not fare so well, with Lloyds Banking Group dropping 0.47 to 30.62p. Barclays dropped a penny to 212.55p as Goldman Sachs suggested that regulatory reforms would result in pressure on returns that could lead the bank to shrink assets by £200bn. The banks were joined by a smattering of miners, with BHP Billiton declining 28p to £21.23 and Fresnillo dropping 39p to £17.36. Slipping back too was Wm Morrison, down 2.8 to 286p, as data revealed the supermarket's sales growth had slowed in the run up to Christmas. But among the second-liners, Ocado claimed pole position. Having posted a profit warning last month, investors were relieved after the online grocer said it expects sales to grow by 10pc in the first quarter. Even though Ocado played down speculation that it could be the subject of a takeover attempt, saying it had not received a bid approach, it jumped 6.9 to 87.1p. But at the other end of the spectrum, Dixons Retail sank 1.14 to 14.1p after losing its chief executive to Apple. Conversely, Argos-owner Home Retail Group climbed 8½ to 107.4p. Among the Aim stocks, SkyePharma was 0.75 stronger at 34.38p after the chief executive of the drug delivery specialist resigned. SkyePharma has been hit by regulatory delays to its asthma therapy, Flutiform. US poker deal with Caesars buoys 888 Punters were placing their bets on 888 after the online gaming business extended an agreement with America's Caesars Entertainment. 888 already provides an online poker platform in the UK for Caesars, one of America's largest casino operators. Under the extended agreement, 888 will also provide this service in the US, once online gaming is permitted there. Analysts at Peel Hunt said the move was positive, arguing: "We have already seen the dramatic turnaround in the underlying business at 888. This has been driven by technology, the lifeblood of an online gaming company, and a more focused approach at management level. 888 [and the industry] does face some challenges [regulation] but the company is now very much on the front foot. 888 jumped 5.5 to 52½p.