FTSE 100 closes at five-year high

London stocks have been gaining strength

London's main FTSE 100 share index closed at its highest level in more than five years, tipping beyond the 6,200 mark.

The index climbed 76.4 points, or 1.2%, to reach 6,224.5 on Monday, its highest level since February 2001.

Analysts said the boost stemmed from US labour figures on Friday, which showed improving fortunes for the US economy.

The five-year high comes soon after the FTSE breached the psychologically important 6,000 mark in early October.

The FTSE reached it highest closing level on 30 December 1999, hitting 6,930.2, although many of those gains soon evaporated when the Dot.com bubble burst in the following year.

US jobs growth

Mining stocks were among the main risers on Monday, with Antofagasta climbing 4%, while Anglo American was up 3.7% and Xstrata rose 3.6%.

The FTSE's rise was helped by US economic data last week which showed a stronger job market than expected.

The world's largest economy added 92,000 jobs in October, taking the jobless rate to its lowest level in more than five years.

Figures from the US Department of Labor revealed that 4.4% of the US workforce were unemployed in October, compared with 4.6% in September.