(ShareCast News) - London's FTSE 100 was on the front foot Thursday, taking its cue from strength on Wall Street as the closure of Chinese markets provided investors with some much-needed respite. At 1305 BST, the top-flight index was up 1.4% at 6,165.81.Budget airline EasyJet flew higher after lifting its full-year profit guidance as it said record passenger numbers in August offset higher costs. The airline now expects pre-tax profit for the year to the end of September to be between £675m and £700m, up from a previous range of £620m to £660m. The load factor for August was 94.4%, a new record for any month, while passenger numbers for the month were 7.06m, which was also a record.Peer International Consolidated Airlines Group was in the black for a second day running after announcing on Wednesday that its offer for Aer Lingus is closed and it now controls 98.05% of the Irish carrier. IAG said that Aer Lingus shareholders who accepted the offer will receive payment for their shares within 14 days. This includes Ryanair, which had a nearly 30% stake in the carrier and the Irish government, which owned 25.1%.Supermarket retailer Wm Morrison got a boost after UBS upgraded the stock to 'neutral from 'sell' and lifted the price target to 175p from165p. The bank noted that new chief executive officer David Potts has only been in the business about six months, but already perceptions have improved. UBS said its 'Evidence Lab' UK consumer survey suggests Morrison has made good progress across the last six months, with consumers recognising an improvement in 'value for money' and fresh credentials.Elsewhere, miners gained, with Glencore, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto all higher as silver and copper prices advances.Rio Tinto said on Thursday that it expects demand for iron ore and steel to continue growing despite a slowdown in China. The group said it continues to expect 2.5% average annual growth for steel demand across China and the rest of the world over the next 15 years, confirming its earlier forecast for Chinese crude steel production to reach around 1bn tonnes by 2030.On the downside, Weir Group slipped after it emerged it's been demoted to the FTSE 250. On Wednesday, it was announced that housebuilder Berkeley Group will replace the engineering firm in the FTSE 100.G4S went ex-dividend on Thursday. RiserseasyJet (EZJ) 1,765.00p +5.56%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 567.50p +4.61%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 169.80p +4.11%Glencore (GLEN) 127.30p +3.66%Anglo American (AAL) 707.70p +3.50%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,095.00p +2.87%Antofagasta (ANTO) 594.00p +2.86%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,837.00p +2.85%Schroders (SDR) 2,791.00p +2.65%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,325.50p +2.60% FallersG4S (GFS) 248.10p -0.28%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,340.00p -0.22%GKN (GKN) 281.00p -0.21%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 508.50p -0.20%