FTSE led up by HSBC

By 11:50 a.m., the FTSE 100 <.FTSE> was up 12.32 points at 5,247.50, on track for its fifth straight session of gains. The market also drew strength from Wall Street overnight, where the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> reached its highest in 13 months.

Heavyweight HSBC rose 4.4 percent after it said its global banking and markets division was having a record year and that losses on consumer loans had shown their first fall in three years.

Gains in HSBC were in contrast to a 3.8 percent fall in Barclays shares. The bank said strong investment banking helped limit a fall in profit in the third quarter, but traders were pessimistic about the outlook for its investment banking operations in the coming months.

Within the sector, Lloyds Banking Group fell 0.3 percent, Royal Bank of Scotland added 0.7 percent, while Standard Chartered advanced 1.2 percent.

The index hit a two-week high earlier in the session, but analysts said shares could see some profit-taking before pushing higher.

"For the FTSE the big level at the moment is 5,300, and it would not be surprising to see markets mark time ahead of here or even for some to book profits following the strong rise seen so far this month," said David Jones, chief market strategist at IG Index.

Among other gainers, Imperial Tobacco gained 3.7 percent after the firm beat forecasts with an 18 percent rise in annual earnings, while new chief executive-designate Alison Cooper put an emphasis on boosting sales for the cigarette group.

Rival tobacco firm British American Tobacco added 0.7 percent.

MINERS RETREAT