Leading stocks in London soared 3.2%, eclipsing the gains of the previous session, to get the New Year off to a real flyer.

The FTSE 100 rose 190.6, or 3.2%, to 6148.8, just shy of the 6157.4 session best.

Following yesterday's 1.3% advance, London's leading equity index now has July's record closing high of 6179.0 in its sights.

"We've moved the goalposts now and should continue in this new range of 6100 to 6150," said one trader at a French bank.

"We may take a short-term breather, but the good news just keeps on coming and concerns have been brushed aside."

The FTSE enjoyed support from all sides, as Wall Street's meteoric gains yesterday were followed by a stellar session in Asia overnight, while European equities were bid up again amid continued enthusiasm over the successful introduction of the euro.

Among Far Eastern markets, Tokyo added 1.8%, Hong Kong shares leapt 3.5% and Singapore climbed 5.7%.

Asian banks were favoured as a result, with Standard Chartered up 13.6% to 784p and HSBC up 8% to 1719p.

Other banking and insurance issues were also in demand, which helped to broaden out the rally, traders said.

Cable & Wireless, which has significant Asian interests, added 8.9% to 848p, further boosted by news of a 13% jump in total subscriptions in Q4 from Q3.

Vodafone ran into a touch of profit-taking from yesterday's bid related surge, but the rest of the sector advanced, with Orange up 9.7% and Cellnet stakeholders Securicor and BT also higher.

The FTSE gradually improved its showing throughout the session, as another impressive start on Wall Street cemented the bullish tack.

The Dow cruised through the 9400-level, now trading comfortably above its all time closing record high.

Volume was strong in London, which was a delight to the bulls after weeks of thin trading, with wall over 1bn shares traded by the close.

"It is still the telecoms and the banks driving this market," the dealer continued.

"All the papers have said the telecoms are overvalued, but they will continue to rise if people keep on paying these prices."

Dixons featured among the fallers, losing 4.8% at 797.5p.