London stocks were still firmer by midday on Wednesday, hitting a fresh high thanks to strength in the mining sector, as investors mulled encouraging Chinese trade data and updates from the likes of Vistry and BP.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 10,163.38, having hit a new high of 10,175 earlier.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: "The FTSE 100 is going from strength to strength, hitting yet another new record high."
He said the blue-chip index was being "propelled by a good spread of industries".
"Endeavour Mining was boosted by ongoing strength in the gold price, with the metal hitting $4,639 per ounce. Gold has become an investor favourite over the past year thanks to a backdrop of uncertainty around geopolitics, inflation and a weakening US dollar," Coatsworth said.
Investors were digesting the latest data out of China, which showed that its trade surplus with the rest of the world reached a record $1.2trn in 2025 as exports to the European Union and Southeast Asia surged in response to higher tariffs in the US.
In dollar terms, the world's second-largest economy reported a trade balance of $1.189trn last year, up from 2024's record of $993bn.
Still to come, the US producer price index and retail sales data for November are due at 1330 GMT. On the corporate front, quarterly earnings from Citigroup and Bank of America will be out later in the day.
In UK equity markets, miners Glencore, Rio and Antofagasta all rallied, along with precious metals miner Fresnillo and gold miners Endeavour and Hochschild.
Diploma gained after saying it had delivered a "very strong" first-quarter performance, with organic revenues growing 14% during the period.
Insurer Prudential advanced as it named City veteran Douglas Flint as its next chair. Flint, who spent more than two decades at HSBC, including seven as group chair, will replace current incumbent Shriti Vadera, who is retiring.
On the downside, energy giant BP was weaker but off earlier lows after saying it expects to take an impairment charge of $4bn - $5bn in the fourth quarter, mainly related to its energy transition businesses.
Housebuilder Vistry fell as it reiterated full-year guidance despite Budget uncertainty weighing on private house sales in the second half. Updating on trading in the year to December end, Vistry confirmed adjusted pre-tax profits were on track to come in around £270m, up from last year's £263.5m and in line with expectations.
Revenues, however, were broadly unchanged at £4.2bn, after the total average selling price rose 3% to £282,000 but completions fell 9% to 15,700. Vistry said the slowdown in sales reflected "uncertainty driven by the Budget, causing a more subdued market in the third quarter and the first half of the fourth quarter".
FTSE 100 peers Berkeley Group and Barratt Redrow also lost ground.
Shares in Pearson dropped sharply despite the educational publisher reporting an acceleration in growth at the end of last year, as investors were disappointed by the absence of forward guidance and the loss of a key US contract.
Recruiter Hays slumped as it reported a drop in net fees, citing challenging conditions in the permanent segment and a decline in average hours worked in Germany.
Asset manager Ashmore retreated ahead of a trading update on Thursday, while Me Group slid after shareholder Montefiore Investment sold its entire stake in the vending machine and self-service laundry company in placing, at a significant discount.
Reckitt Benckiser edged lower after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the stock to 'sector perform' from 'outperform' and cut the price target to 6,200p from 6,400p.
Bytes Technology was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy' at Jefferies.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,163.38 0.26%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,835.78 -0.42%
techMARK (TASX) 5,802.15 0.12%
FTSE 100 - Risers
AstraZeneca (AZN) 14,338.00p 2.36%
Glencore (GLEN) 479.35p 1.95%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,326.00p 1.80%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 351.50p 1.59%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,561.00p 1.50%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,751.00p 1.33%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 412.50p 1.20%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 464.40p 1.20%
Fresnillo (FRES) 3,826.00p 1.16%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 3,886.00p 1.04%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Pearson (PSON) 1,002.50p -6.79%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,896.00p -2.16%
ICG (ICG) 1,986.00p -1.97%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 633.60p -1.89%
The Sage Group (SGE) 1,090.00p -1.76%
easyJet (EZJ) 481.00p -1.70%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 371.60p -1.67%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 83.72p -1.27%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,289.50p -1.19%
Entain (ENT) 717.40p -1.18%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 4,246.00p 3.36%
AEP Plantations (AEP) 1,405.00p 2.55%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 174.00p 2.35%
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) 154.20p 1.51%
Victrex plc (VCT) 698.00p 1.45%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 578.50p 1.40%
Pantheon Infrastructure (PINT) 111.00p 1.37%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 287.40p 1.27%
BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 405.00p 1.25%
Johnson Service Group (JSG) 137.00p 1.18%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Vistry Group (VTY) 635.20p -7.03%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 179.60p -4.72%
THG (THG) 41.68p -4.49%
Me Group International (MEGP) 136.60p -4.21%
Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 353.80p -3.75%
Hays (HAS) 49.04p -3.75%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 127.80p -3.18%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 203.20p -2.59%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 104.90p -2.55%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,227.00p -2.46%