Britain's leading shares were higher at midday on Thursday, extending gains for a fourth day as early profit-taking attracted bargain hunters back into the market, with banks and commodities leading the risers.
By 1158 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was up 26.18 points, or 0.5 percent, at 5,302.82 after trading as high as 5,316.15, its highest level in four weeks. The index closed 0.6 percent higher on Wednesday.
"The recent run of straight gains indicates that investors are hunting for buying opportunities," said Joshua Raymond, market strategist at City Index.
"The higher we go the more investors will be enticed into cashing in their profits and this will be when investors will need to make a decision over whether to consolidate or build on positions," Raymond said.
Banks were again among the top risers. The sector has beaten off recent worries over euro zone debt issues and has been bolstered in the previous two sessions by upbeat results from Barclays and BNP Paribas.
Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC and Standard Chartered rose 0.4 to 1.5 percent.
JPMorgan added further to its "overweight" stance on European banks, saying "the potential peak in the provisioning cycle, coupled with record steep yield curves in most regions, is a positive for banks profitability."
Miners, which have fared well as concerns over China's monetary tightening have ebbed, were also on the front foot.
Fresnillo, Xstrata, Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys and Vedanta Resources added 0.2 to 1.2 percent.
Oil majors rallied as crude prices hovered around $77 a barrel, with BG Group, BP and Royal Dutch Shell up 0.5 to 0.8 percent.
RESULTS LIFT
More robust results from London's blue chips helped add further momentum to the index, which is down 2 percent so far this year on concerns over euro zone fiscal problems.
Defence contractor BAE Systems was the top FTSE 100 riser, up 3.1 percent after its full-year results beat market forecasts, with 2009 profit up 15 percent..
Kingfisher rose 2.2 percent after Europe's biggest do-it-yourself retailer reported its fourth-quarter trading update.
The news lifted other retailers, with Home Retail and Next adding 0.2 and 0.5 percent respectively.
BT Group was a main drag on the FTSE 100, down 4.4 percent to a near seven-month low after credit rating agency Standard & Poor's cut its debt rating for the UK fixed-line operator by one notch to BBB-minus, traders said.
Publishing and events group Reed Elsevier dipped 0.8 percent after the company confirmed its 2010 outlook.
Life insurers were also lower, with Legal & General, which reported fourth-quarter new business figures on Wednesday, down 0.8 percent, and Aviva, Resolution and Prudential 0.8 to 1 percent lower.
Economic data suggested financing conditions remained tough for UK firms. The Bank of England said lending to British businesses contracted at its fastest ever pace in December, after the flow of funds sharply reversed from November to drop 4.3 billion pounds on the month.
Focus will turn to the United States later in the session with U.S. producer prices for January due for release at 1330 GMT and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's business activity index set for release at 1500 GMT.
