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The FTSE 100 was up 1% to 7,535.69 by midday after a recovery in US tech stocks overnight which implied improved market sentiment.
Banking group Virgin Money UK gained 2.1% to 193.98p having upped its annual margin guidance, though it said overall trading was in line with expectations amid a fall in first-quarter lending and deposit volumes.
Virgin Money UK said it now expected its net interest margin for the year through September to be around 175 basis points.
Shares in premium British lifestyle group Joules crashed 34% to 79p after the company said trading for the nine weeks to 30 January was behind the board's expectations.
Soft drinks maker AG Barr shrugged off the impact of Omicron on the hospitality sector in the last 10 weeks of its financial year to serve up its third upgrade in six months, news that nudged the shares up 3.2% to 511p.
Cinema group Cineworld rose 0.2% to 39.31p as it started talks with former Regal shareholders to reach an agreement over rescheduling payment obligations.
In September last year, Cineworld said it would pay $170 million to shareholders who were unhappy with the price they received when the company bought Regal in 2017.
Housing services provider Mears advanced 3.8% to 202.97p as it upgraded is annual profit guidance after the Omicron coronavirus variant failed to dent demand.
Mears' adjusted pre-tax profit for the year through December was expected to be around £25.5 million, ahead of market consensus of £25.1 million.
Cosmetics company Warpaint London jumped 9.6% to 168.75p having upgraded its annual profit guidance after it achieved higher-than-expected sales and its margins held up despite supply-chain pressures.
Warpaint's adjusted pre-tax profit for the year through December was seen rising to £6.6 million, up from £2.3 million in 2020 and £5.2 million in 2019. Revenue would exceed the £50 million achieved in 2019.
Infrastructure investor 3i Infrastructure firmed 0.3% to 347.15p as it reported a rise in income that met expectations in the third quarter. 3i Infrastructure also confirmed it was on-track to meet its fiscal 2022 dividend target of 10.45p per share, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%.
Gene and cell therapy group Oxford Biomedica edged up 0.1% to 845p on announcing that Sio Gene Therapies intended to return the global rights and cease work on a gene therapy programme in Parkinson's Disease.
All rights would be returned at no cost to the company, Oxford Biomedica said, adding it expected the impact on revenue to be negligible over at least the coming 24 months.
Oil company SDX Energy added 0.4% to 9.73p after it agreed sell 33% of its interests in the South Disouq concession in Egypt for $5.5 million.
SDX also said it would launch a related $3 million share buyback in the second half of 2022.