London's blue-chip index pushed higher on Monday as resources stocks raced ahead on the back of rising commodity prices.
The FTSE 100 Index closed up 20.23 points to 7,531.94, with Anglo American leading the charge after iron ore prices rallied in China in response to falling inventories and rising demand.
Shares in Anglo rose more than 3%, or 39.5p to 1,310p, while Glencore climbed 8.8p to 346.6p and Rio Tinto was 91p higher at 3,637p.
Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said: "After flagging around lunchtime the FTSE stole a bit of buzz from the US open to climb 0.2%, re-hitting 7530 in the process.
"The UK index isn't too far off its own all-time high, though with such a dreary week on the cards it may need another sharp drop from the pound to propel it back to those levels."
Across Europe, Germany's Dax drifted 0.3% lower while the Cac 40 in France was flat.
In currency, the strong US dollar kept the pound stuck in the red despite positive economic data on UK house prices.
Sterling was down 0.2% at 1.302 versus the greenback, with Halifax's monthly index showing prices rose 0.4% in July, a bounce back from the 0.9% decline recorded in June.
Prices in the three months to July were 2.1% higher than in the same three months last year, but this was down from 2.6% in June and is the lowest annual rate of growth since April 2013.
The UK currency was also struggling against the euro, down 0.3% at 1.104.
On the oil markets, Brent crude gave up early morning gains, sinking 1.7% to 51.54 US dollars a barrel at the time of the London market close.
In UK stocks, the stand-out performance from the mining giants helped offset a dismal day's trading for betting company Paddy Power Betfair, which slumped to the foot of the market following a top-level shake up.
Chief executive Breon Corcoran is stepping down and will be replaced by Worldpay boss Peter Jackson, who has been appointed following a "rigorous and extensive succession process", the company said.
Mr Corcoran, a gambling sector veteran, was instrumental in the £7 billion merger between Paddy Power and Betfair, which he previously headed.
Prior to Worldpay, Mr Jackson was chief executive of Travelex Group from 2010 until its sale in 2015.
In 2016 he led the innovation at Banco Santander and, between 2002 and 2010, he held a series of roles in the retail bank at Lloyds Banking Group and HBOS.
He has also been a non-executive director of Paddy Power Betfair since 2016.
The firm, which is to announce its half-year results on Tuesday, will report revenue growth of 9% and underlying earnings up 21%.
Shares were down in excess of 4%, or 370p to 7,550p.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Anglo American up 39.5p to 1,310p, Glencore up 8.8p to 346.6p, Rio Tinto up 91p to 3,637p, BHP Billiton up 31p to 1,396p.
The biggest fallers were Paddy Power Betfair down 370p to 7,550p, Pearson down 25p to 630.5p, Mediclinic International down 18.5p to 737.5p, and Merlin Entertainments down 11.2p to 478.2p.
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