London's FTSE 100 index closed at a fresh record high on Wednesday evening - its first trading day after the Christmas break.
It is the second such record in nearly a week, having pushed above the 7,600 mark for the first time last Thursday to reach 7,603.98 points.
That upward trend continued on Wednesday, when London's blue chip index rose 0.37% or 28 points to close at 7,620.68 points.
Stocks usually extend their gains in the final trading days of December in what is often referred to as a "Santa rally".
The phenomenon has been chalked up to factors including lower trading volumes and bargain hunting ahead of an anticipated rise in stock prices at the start of January.
The FTSE 100's European counterparts also ended the day higher, with the French CAC 40 and Dublin ISEQ up around 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. But the Frankfurt DAX finished flat.
Meanwhile, sterling ended the day mixed, rising nearly 0.2% against the US dollar to trade at 1.339, but falling more than 0.1% against the euro to 1.125.
Royal Dutch Shell's "B" shares were up 0.6% and Barclays shares also rose on the FTSE today despite warning that earnings would be hit by Donald Trump's US tax reforms.
The two companies said the changes - which were signed into law on December 22 and will see corporation tax in the US slashed from 35% to 21% - will affect profits as they have to recalculate the deferred tax assets built up on their balance sheets.
But both firms expect to benefit in the long run.
IWG surged 27% after the office space group confirmed it been approached by Brookfield Asset Management and Canadian private equity firm Onex over a possible takeover offer.
They now have until January 20 to put forward a firm offer for IWG.
