GKN in pole position as blue-chips speed up "While at first take the deal is not overridingly compelling at £800m, it does not reflect the positives from a business with a greater skew to aerospace," added analysts. Pointing out that Volvo Aero's primary focus is on civil aircraft, compared with GKN's fairly even split between civil and military, Credit Suisse thought that a move towards more civil exposure would be beneficial given "continued uncertainty over defence spending." Credit Suisse's optimism about the deal helped push GKN up 11.8 to 203.3p as the blue-chips motored ahead. Having spent much of the morning in neutral, the index later gained ground as the mood was lifted by chatter that China could post strong economic growth numbers on Friday. That helped the FTSE 100 jump 75.72 points to 5,710.46. The FTSE 250 jumped 180.53 points to 11,414.53. That marked a sharp turnaround from the vertiginous falls the FTSE 100 endured at the beginning of the week as it practically wiped out all its gains for the year. Citigroup strategists said that they were "still bullish" on equities, "just less so." "Attractive valuations and healthy corporate performance mean that Citi strategists remain bullish on the longer-term prospects for global equities," they added. However, some shorter-term consolidation may be appropriate after such a strong start to the year. As well as GKN, Johnson Matthey, which makes catalytic converters, stood 91p higher at £23.59. Chemicals producer, Croda International, gained 75p to £21.44. With metal prices firmer, miners were on the march, too. Rio Tinto added 150½p to £34.87 and Kazakhmys put on 27½ to 896½p. Among the second-liners, gold miner Centamin was in demand. Dealers have been fretting over the fallout of industrial unrest at one of its mines in Egypt. But, Centamin said that gold production at the site was only marginally below its estimates, despite the strike in March. The miner said production in the first quarter rose 9pc to 49,071 ounces. It had expected to produce 50,000 ounces. Centamin rose 3.2 to 66.4p, but conversely, African Barrick Gold dropped 19½ to 351.2p. Goldman Sachs turned sellers of the group, saying its forthcoming first-quarter results were set to "disappoint" and that it expected gold prices to come under pressure. Back on the top tier, rising revenues fuelled Aggreko. After the temporary power provider said sales at its local and international power projects businesses had risen 21pc in the first quarter, it jumped 67p to £22.26. Having been knocked back earlier in the week by a downgrade from JP Morgan Cazenove, BT added 6.3 to 219½p while Burberry put on 45p to £15.85. Lifting the luxury label was a bullish note from Deutsche. Ahead of first-half results, due next week, analysts increased their sales assumptions to reflect a more optimistic prognosis for the luxury sector. With markets in a better humour, there were only half a dozen stocks in the red. Insurance vehicle Resolution was the worst performer, down 2.1 to 248½p. Hedge fund manager Man Group dropped 0.3 to 115.4p. Memories of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster resurfaced as Royal Dutch Shell investigated a "sheen" discovered in the water near its offshore wells in the gulf. Shell was sharply sold off in the morning, but finished down 11p at £21.74 after calming investors" nerves by saying that the sheen was estimated to total about six barrels of oil and that its facilities showed no signs of leaks. Smith & Nephew was under the weather, with the maker of artificial hips and knees down 2 at 612½p. But AstraZeneca rallied 14p to £28.07. There has been speculation that Astra investors are calling for a shake-up, while some in the City are increasingly expecting the drug giant to strike a deal to prop up its pipeline. Addressing those suggestions, UBS analysts thought that a mid-sized deal could boost earnings and they also thought that Astra could become a bid target itself. Shire added 14p to £19.52 as it signed another deal in the field of regenerative medicine, buying the assets of Pervasis Therapeutics. Healthier outlook for testing-kit maker Immunodiagnostic Systems (IDS) took a turn for the better after the maker of diagnostic testing kits reiterated a shift in strategy. The Aim-listed company indicated it was responding to increased competition in the vitamin D market with more aggressive pricing and is expanding its portfolio of tests for non-vitamin D focused customers. IDS's kits analyse blood, serum, plasma or urine to detect various diseases and measure vitamin D levels. But the vitamin D testing market is coming under pressure as competitors move in. "While we don't think that IDS is out of the woods yet and we aren't arguing for a return to previous ratings, forecast risk is reducing and the shares are now looking too cheap," said Investec analysts. IDS shares leapt 39¼ to 349¼p.