By Alistair Smout and Kit Rees
LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 posted its biggest one-day rise since 2011 on Tuesday after China cut interest rates to calm markets, following turbulence that has rocked equities globally.
The FTSE 100 (FTSE) rebounded after dropping to its lowest level since 2012 in the previous session. It had fallen for 10 straight days as concerns about China's economy mounted.
Following weak data on Friday, China's failure to deliver substantial stimulus over the weekend was cited as driving Monday's dramatic falls in global markets.
However, investors took heart after China's central bank cut interest rates on Tuesday and relaxed reserve requirements for the second time in two months, cranking up support for a stuttering economy and its plunging stock market.
"It's clearly a positive. The question is, whether it will be enough?" said Francis Yared, rates strategist at Deutsche Bank (XETRA:DBKGn), adding that hopes of further easing would be as important as the measures delivered on Tuesday.
"The bigger picture is that the source of the stresses we've had are coming from the fact that China needed to ease policy more."
The benchmark FTSE 100 rose 182.47 points, or 3.1 percent, to 6,081.34 points by the close, with many investors eager to buy into beaten-down commodity related stocks.
Shares in mining companies rebounded from China-related falls, having been under the cosh from commodity price weakness. The FTSE 350 mining sector (FTNMX1770) was up 4 percent from its lowest levels since 2009. Base metals rose modestly.
Antofagasta (L:ANTO) was up 8.7 percent, the top FTSE 100 riser. It said it was targeting savings of about $160 million this year, and rebounded from its lowest levels in over six years.
Glencore (L:GLEN) rallied as much as 8 percent from all-time lows hit on Monday, and last traded 4.6 percent higher.
Matthew Tillett, senior UK equity fund manager at Allianz (XETRA:ALVG), said that the falls in mining stocks made them good sources of value, despite their exposure to volatility in China, the world's biggest metals consumer.
"(There is) more clear value out there than there was two or three months ago," Tillett said.
BHP Billiton (L:BLT) also rose about 5.5 percent despite reporting a 52 percent slump in annual profit to a decade low, as the world's biggest miner said it would cut spending more deeply to shore up dividends.
"Whilst the numbers were fairly ugly reading, I think the thing that the market was most concerned about was that the dividend should be maintained, which it was," said Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown (LONDON:HRGV).
RSA (L:RSA) rose 3.9 percent after receiving a 550 pence all-cash takeover proposal from Zurich Insurance (VX:ZURN), paving the way for one of Europe's largest insurance deals.