UK stocks surge in global rally

Investors worldwide had a good day as shares surged

World stocks gained on optimism about a global economic recovery, with UK shares reaching a 14-month high.

The Standard and Poor's 500 index was at a 13-month high, with stocks in Europe and through Asia also higher.

Stocks were buoyed after US retail sales rebounded sharply in October, while oil prices surged more than 3%.

In the UK, miners such as Rio Tinto and Xstrata surged as other commodity prices such as copper rose, and gold prices touched a new record.

The UK's benchmark FTSE 100 index closed up 1.6%, or 86.29, to 5,382.67.

Rising confidence

In the US, all three indexes were higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 1.3% and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1.5%, while the Nasdaq index was also higher.

Crude oil rose by $2.55 to $78.90 a barrel in New York, sending US energy stocks higher.

The world's biggest non-state-owned oil company, Exxon Mobil, surged 2.9%.

American Express added to the optimism. Its shares gained 3.5% after it said loan defaults fell for a sixth straight month.

The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 1.4%, rebounding strongly after September's fall of 2.3%, spurring gains in US retailers like Saks.