Britain's FTSE 100 share index sailed to a 14-month high early on Monday, up for a fifth consecutive session and led by miners and energy stocks as growing confidence boosted demand for commodities.
At 0927 GMT the index was up 60.21 points at 5356.59, after hitting a 14-month closing high on Friday at 5,296.38 points.
The FTSE 100 rose 2.9 percent last week and has rebounded 53 percent since hitting a six-year trough in March.
Heavyweight miners were the biggest winners. The sector posted gains across the board on the back of broadly firmer metal prices led by gold, which recorded a new historical highs as investors sought sanctuary in the commodity away from the U.S. dollar
Lonmin topped the index leader board, up 5.4 percent, as the world's third biggest platinum producer said it planned to boost output by a fifth by 2013 as prices climb on shortages, after it posted a swing to an annual loss on weak prices and lower output.
Randgold Resources, Rio Tinto, Xstrata, Kazakmys, BHP Billiton and Anglo American were up 2.5 to 5 percent.
"What we're seeing is an indicator of the FTSE's weighting towards global prospects with the miners leading the way … and HSBC and Standard Chartered performing well for the banks," said Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Banking gains were underpinned by a 1.1 percent rise in Europe's biggest bank HSBC, as investors bought into the risk sensitive sector.
Standard Chartered was up 1.2 percent, while Barclays added 0.3 percent.
But Lloyds Banking Group dipped 0.9 percent after the Sunday Times newspaper said the state-backed bank has been forced to wipe off up to 600 million pounds of pub chain Admiral Taverns's debt.
Energy stocks also had support with crude oil prices up above the $77 a barrel level. Cairn Energy, Tullow Oil Royal Dutch Shell, BP and BG Group climbed 0.8 to 1.6 percent.
"To an extent the market is still seeing some following wind from the recent China data (factory output figures on Nov. 11)," Bowman added.
DEFENSIVES LAG
As risk appetite hardened, perceived defensive issues lagged the blue chip rally.
Pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and Astra Zeneca fell 1 and 0.5 percent respectively.
Sainsbury dipped 0.8 percent, under pressure from weakness in the food retailer sector and a report the supermarket firm is losing market share to its peers.
There was mixed news on the economic front. On a month-on-month basis, asking prices for homes in England and Wales fell by 1.6 percent, according to property website Rightmove in what it said was likely to be the start of a seasonal slowdown.
However, year-on-year prices were 1.6 percent higher, the biggest annual rise since May 2008.
Mid-cap UK housebuilder Persimmon gained 3.6 percent after it reported improved trading in the third quarter and said it has met its sales targets for the year.
Attention later in the day is expected to be drawn to the United States, where investors await retail sales figures for October.
"Anything that suggests consumer confidence is taking a hit as we approach the holiday shopping season could initiate a wave of profit-taking in the US, the impact of which would doubtless be felt on markets across the globe," said Ben Potter, research analyst at IG Markets.
