The FTSE 100 ended the day, and a volatile week, up 0.68 per cent.
The index closed Friday at 3,842.85 – a rise of 25.92 points.
Over the week as a whole, the index was up 2.37 per cent – as optimistic spurts on Thursday and Wednesday ebbed.
The gains today were driven by the insurers, egged on by solid results from Prudential posted yesterday.
The Pru was up 16.55 per cent, Standard Life rose 13.87 per cent, Legal & General climbed 12.34 per cent and Aviva gained 8.80 per cent.
Banks saw more drops with Barclays down 6.67 per cent to 105p, after it was revealed by the Guardian it had made £1 billion through tax avoidance, while HSBC fell 5.65 per cent as the bank's rights issue gets under way.
British Land fell 5.24 per cent, Amec was down 3.35 per cent and Invensys dropped 2.93 per cent.
In the US, the Dow was down 0.72 per cent at 13:23 EST (17:23 GMT) to 7,347.67 after spending the morning flatlining.
David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index, said: "Initial optimism over the Fed's larger-than-expected buyout plan has faded fast, with the Dow also unsure of which direction to take in early trading today.
"With the midweek investor optimism abruptly snapped, plus the latest gloomy world GDP forecasts by the OECD and IMF, the outlook remains uncertain at best and we may have to wait a while before the FTSE can mount - and sustain - a recovery back above the 4,000 mark."
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