UK market gets festive cheer

London - Britain's top share index rose to its highest close in 15 months on Thursday, up for a fourth straight day in a shortened Christmas Eve session, buoyed by miners and oil stocks and with banks also lending support.

The FTSE 100 ended 30.03 points or 0.6 percent higher at 5 402.41, taking its weekly gain to almost 4 percent.

"We've had upward momentum this week. The market seems determined to finish on a high for the year," said Philip Gillett, sales trader at IG Index. "I just put it down to seasonal good cheer."

The FTSE 100 has rallied about 56 percent since hitting a floor in early March and is up about 22 percent for the year, on track for its biggest yearly gain since 1997. Last year, the index lost more than 31 percent.

Miners were in demand as metal prices rose. Gold spiked above $1,100 per ounce as a recent drop to seven-week lows spurred some bargain hunting in a holiday-thinned market.

Silver miner Fresnillo was the top FTSE 100 gainer, up 6.1 percent, while Randgold Resources, Anglo American, Kazakhmys and BHP Billiton gained 1.1 to 1.3 percent.

Energy issues also rose, with BG Group, Royal Dutch Shell and BP up 0.6 to 1.5 percent.

Retail issues got a boost on hopes for a pre-Christmas rush by consumers, with blue chips Next, Kingfisher and Home Retail Group up 0.5 to 1.6 percent.

British retail bellwether John Lewis posted a 27 percent rise in department store sales so far this week, showing consumers' festive spending has not been dampened by heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures.

Banks were also in favour, with HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group up 0.2 to 0.7 percent.

- Reuters