London close: Markets hold on to gains despite shaky start in US

UK stocks finished moderately higher on Monday, rebounding after a heavy sell-off the previous session, with markets managing to hold on to gains despite a shaky start on Wall Street as investors turned cautious ahead of US earnings season.US benchmarks were trading slightly lower after the opening bell in New York as traders await the first-quarter earnings report from aluminium heavyweight Alcoa in after-hours trade. Bellwethers JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co will also be reporting later this week.Sentiment Stateside was still fragile following Friday's gloomy employment report which saw just an 88,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in March, well below the 190,000 consensus forecast. Equities across the globe reacted with steep falls on Friday, with the FTSE 100 losing around 1.5% of its value.While the lacklustre numbers have likely eased fears that the Federal Reserve would look to scale back its quantitative easing programme anytime soon, traders have turned cautious. Resilient economic data out of the States over the past few months has largely been responsible for the strong year-to-date surge on stock markets worldwide - with the S&P 500 in particular reaching record highs in early April - so any hint of a pause in the US recovery is likely to bring out the bulls.Supporting stocks in London was some better-than-expected industrial production data from Germany this morning. However, renewed concerns over Portugal were keeping a lid on gains today after the government's austerity programme received a severe blow this weekend, with the Constitutional Court ruling against proposed budget measures.Meanwhile, the Sentix economic index, which measures investor sentiment across the Eurozone, managed to disappoint as inconclusive elections in Italy and the Cyprus bailout hit optimism across the single-currency region.Polymetal surges after 2012 resulsShares in precious metals giant Polymetal jumped on Monday after the company boosted its dividend by over a half following strong profits growth and cash control in 2012. A 40% rise in revenues to $1.33bn was more or less in line with estimates, but a 47% jump in adjusted EBITDA managed to beat forecasts by 5.0%.Industrial engineering firm Weir gained strongly today after Bank of America lifted its price target for the stock from 2,300p to 2,500p and kept a 'buy' rating. BofA said that despite a strong performance in 2013 so far (up 21% year to date), Weir is still trading at a discount to the sector with a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.3. Meanwhile, Weir announced this afternoon that Norges Bank, one of its largest shareholders, has raised its stake in the firm to over 3.0% after buying up shares.Oil stocks were performing well today, tracking the price of crude higher. Tullow, Afren and Premier Oil were among the highest risers on the FTSE 350. Premier Oil was also making gains after saying that an exploration well on the Luno II prospect in PL 359 (30% owned) had found a "potential significant discovery".Communications technology group Spirent was hit by a UBS downgrade from 'buy' to 'neutral', after the broker said that the recovery is "likely to take longer than previously anticipated".Aberdeen Asset Management was a strong riser after Jefferies upped its target price on the stock from 400p to 420p, maintaining a 'hold' recommendation.AIM-listed gemstone miner Gemfields sank after the Zambian government said that it could impose restrictions on selling stones outside of the country.FTSE 100 - RisersPolymetal International (POLY) 882.00p +5.25%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,276.00p +4.21%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,191.00p +3.21%Antofagasta (ANTO) 990.50p +3.07%Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 408.50p +2.87%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 859.50p +2.20%Reed Elsevier (REL) 755.00p +1.89%Hammerson (HMSO) 484.80p +1.87%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 852.50p +1.79%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 247.30p +1.73%FTSE 100 - FallersResolution Ltd. (RSL) 261.40p -1.69%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 46.30p -1.51%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 266.10p -1.26%Centrica (CNA) 369.80p -1.15%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,645.00p -1.14%Barclays (BARC) 277.20p -1.00%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 108.70p -0.82%Capita (CPI) 869.50p -0.69%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 233.50p -0.60%Experian (EXPN) 1,141.00p -0.52%FTSE 250 - RisersPremier Oil (PMO) 385.00p +6.12%Afren (AFR) 135.00p +6.05%Genus (GNS) 1,489.00p +4.79%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 197.20p +3.68%Homeserve (HSV) 192.20p +3.56%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 3,655.00p +3.48%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 116.80p +3.36%Senior (SNR) 243.20p +3.31%Kenmare Resources (KMR) 28.20p +3.30%Cairn Energy (CNE) 282.00p +3.30%FTSE 250 - FallersAnite (AIE) 114.30p -4.99%Spirent Communications (SPT) 134.60p -4.67%Dignity (DTY) 1,353.00p -3.56%COLT Group SA (COLT) 121.00p -3.51%Greggs (GRG) 460.00p -3.10%Savills (SVS) 516.50p -3.00%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 210.00p -2.78%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 185.50p -2.37%F&C Asset Management (FCAM) 97.50p -2.35%Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,040.00p -2.35%BC