LONDON (ShareCast) - London steamed ahead Tuesday as investors piled into banks following last night’s improved bid for Bears Stearns from JP Morgan Chase.

Buyers were out in force, pushing the leading index towards 5,700 after the long Easter break, with HBOS soaring nearly 14%. Barclays, RBS, Alliance & Leicester and Lloyds TSB are also sharply higher.

Housebuilders Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon are also in demand in a session that so far boasts no blue chip losers.

But convenience food group Uniq tumbled after it opted not to pay a final dividend as it expects a full recovery will now take longer due to the worsening economic environment.

Fund manager Liontrust has seen another dip in assets under management in the past three months, with results for the year showing a drop of more than 18% to under £4.5bn.

Half year losses have widened to £3m at Ceres Power due to increased investment spend, although the AIM listed fuel cell group believes it is well positioned going forward.

Oil drilling services provider and bid target Expro International reckons full year results will be at the top end of its expectations following continued strength in the second half.

HBOS is preparing to hand the Financial Services Authority its own detailed account of last week’s unusual trading patterns in the bank’s shares to aid the regulator’s investigation into possible stock manipulation, says the FT.

The premiers of both the UK and France are to demand that banks disclose all their bad debts, which could amount to a staggering $600bn (£302bn), five times the sum already written off since November, in a bid to bolster confidence in the floundering financial markets, writes the Independent.

Elsewhere, bulk shipping carrier Hellenic Carriers has secured new loan facilities with banks of up to $310m to fund the purchase of two vessels and provide cash for future growth.

Investment company LMS Capital has today admitted it is in talks regarding the sale of its Energy Cranes business.

The announcement was made in response to a report in the Sunday Times that LMS had slapped a £100m asking price on the Aberdeen-based supplier of offshore cranes to the energy industry.

Mobile software specialist Artilium today denied talk in the press that KPN Mobile International is to buy a minority equity stake in the company.

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