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

On the downside, mining stocks were under pressure as commodity prices retreated after rising in the previous session. Anglo American , Antofagasta , Xstrata and Eurasian Natural Resources slipped 1.7 to 2.3 percent.

Among individual losers, Vodafone was down 3.1 percent after reporting in-line results and an extension to its cost-cutting programme to 2 billion pounds, as analysts warned of underlying weakness and tough competition in emerging markets.

Economic data suggested Britain could be moving steadily out of recession, giving a further boost to positive sentiment for equities.

House prices in England and Wales rose last month at their strongest rate in almost three years, buoyed by tight supply and record low interest rates, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said.

Meanwhile, British retail sales rose last month at their fastest annual pace since April to notch up their best October showing for seven years, data from the British Retail Consortium showed.