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The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% by midday as Aviva shares were lifted by the arrival of activist investor Cevian and several major websites were down thanks to a problem at cloud computing firm Fastly.
British American Tobacco rose 2.0% to £28.2914, having upgraded its revenue outlook on accelerating growth in non-combustible products, including vaping, and stronger cigarette sales volumes.
The tobacco giant said revenue in 2021 was now expected to grow above above 5% at constant currency, ahead of its previous 3-to-5% growth guidance.
Fund manger Intermediate Capital rallied 6.3% to £22.915 after it boosted its annual profit 10% and upgraded guidance for fund inflows.
Intermediate Capital also upped its dividend by 10%, to 56p per share.
Cocktail bar owner Nightcap jumped 18% to 27.19p on announcing that its bars had notched higher-than-expected sales since they reopened last month.
Nightcap's revenue for the three full weeks since the reopening of indoor hospitality, being 17 May to 6 June inclusive, grew 92% compared to the equivalent weeks in the 2019 calendar year.
Veterinary drugs company Dechra Pharmaceuticals added 2.3% to £42.50 on guiding for full-year revenue ahead of current market expectations.
Dechra cited a completion of a UK pre-Brexit inventory unwind and a further easing of lockdown restrictions for the upbeat forecast.
High-tech product supplier Oxford Instruments nudged up less than 0.1% to £21.453 after it posted a 35% rise in annual profit, as sales edged higher and cost cutting helped fatten margins.
Oxford Instruments declared a full-year dividend of 17p per share, compared to zero payment year-on-year, comprising final and interim payouts of 12.9p and 4.1p, respectively.
Wagamama owner Restaurant Group gained 2.3% to 132.8p following news that chairman Debbie Hewitt would stand down at the end of 2021 to become chairman of the English Football Association.
Restaurant Group said it had commenced a formal process to recruit a successor, led by senior director Graham Clemett.
Specialist lender Paragon Banking ascended 4.0% to 532.5p, having reported a 69% rise in first-half profit, buoyed by an improved interest margin and lower loan provision losses.
Paragon Banking declared an interim dividend of 7.2p per share, up from zero payout year-on-year. The interim dividend was 50% of 2020's final dividend, in line with company policy.
Property portal OnTheMarket rallied 7.6% to 112.95p as it swung to its first ever full-year profit after it boosted sales and trimmed costs.
OnTheMarket's pre-tax profit for the year through January amounted to £1.14 million, compared to year-on-year losses of £11.7 million. Revenue rose 22% to £23.0 million.
Payments group PCI-PAL climbed 6.2% to 94p as it upgraded is annual guidance, following a rise in revenue it said had eaten into expected losses.
Language services group RWS fell 6.2% to 604.5p, having posted a 7% fall in first-half profit, partly owing to acquisition costs, though its underlying performance improved and it hiked its dividend 14% to 2p per share.
Media technology provider Amino Technologies firmed 2.7% to 153p on guiding for first-half revenue 'significantly' ahead of the prior year.