The FTSE 100 gained 0.25% before trading on the London Stock Exchange was halted due to a computer glitch.
Chipmaker ARM Holdings (LON:ARM) and real estate company Hammerson (LON:HMSO) led the blue chips with gains of nearly 2%.
International Consolidated Airlines Group (LON:AIG), which today said that it returned to profits in the final quarter of 2010, added 1.7%, as did Rio Tinto (LON:RIO), while fellow mining major Antofagasta (LON:ANTO) declined 1%.
Part-nationalised bank Lloyds (LON:LLOY), which today announced that it posted a pre-tax profit of £2.21 billion in 2010, fell 5%.
Elsewhere in Europe, Germany’s DAX added 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 1.35% and Spain’s IBEX 35 rallied 1.6%.
Financial bookmakers are expecting a positive start on Wall Street today.
Futures for the S&P 500 index and the technology heavy NASDAQ composite rose 0.65% and 0.8% in the morning, while Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures climbed 0.5%.
Shares in Boeing (NYSE:BA) advanced 4.5% in pre-market.
Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) advanced 3% and 1.8% respectively.
Citigroup (NYSE:C) declined marginally.
Thursday’s US data was mixed.
The Department of Labor said yesterday that initial jobless claims declined 22,000 to 391,000 last week, indicating that the recovery in the job market is gaining speed.
The Commerce Department reported a 2.7% increase in durable goods orders in January, however, new home sales in the US dropped 12.6% to an annualised rate of 284,000 during the month.
In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite Index held steady, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.8% and South Korea’s KOSPI and Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.7%.