Traders took heart from upbeat British construction figures to propel London shares higher on Thursday.
The building industry expanded sharply in June to a four month high, according to the latest purchasing managers index from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply.
Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight said: “It boosts hopes and belief that the construction output returned to growth in the second quarter and contributed to improved GDP growth.”
The news helped dealers to shrug off continued uncertainty over the outcome of the Greek debt crisis.
The FTSE 100 Index rose 20.34 points to 6628.93 in early afternoon trading in London.
The Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers ruled out more talks with Greece over a debt deal until after the country's referendum on Sunday.
Greeks will vote on whether to accept the terms that the country's creditors have proposed in return for more cash aid.
The left-wing government in Athens has urged voters to reject the proposals, denying that it would result in the country having to leave the Eurozone.
Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis vowed to quit in the event of a ‘yes’ vote, but said he believed the electorate would support the government’s stance.
Latest polls, however, are said to show a narrow lead for the ‘yes’ campaign.
Connor Campbell at spread-betting firm Spreadex said: "If the ‘yes’ vote prevails, it will be hard not to see it as a rejection of Tsipras and his party, just months after they swept to victory."
Dealers were also staying cautious ahead of the release later on Thursday of US non-farm payroll data for June.
Gold prices fell more than 1% to $1,157 an ounce and the price of a barrel of US light crude was hovering just above $57.
On the corporate front in the UK, Dixons Carphone (LON:DC.) sparked 5.9p to 464.7p after announcing a retail joint venture with US telecoms group Sprint.
Drug companies were doing well with AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) gaining 63p to 4183.5p and Shire (LON:SHP) advancing 55p to 5265p.
Housebuilders subsided after building society Nationwide said house prices dipped 0.2% in June, causing the year-on-year gain to slow sharply to a two-year low of 3.3%.
Persimmon (LON:PSN) dropped 2p to 2014p, Bellway (LON:BWY) lost 9p to 2401p, Bovis Homes (LON:BVS) backtracked 6p to 1136p, Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV) reversed 1.5p to 630.5p but Redrow (LON:RDW) climbed 3.4p to 459.4p.
Worries about coal prices hit miner Hargreaves Services (LON:HSP), 33.75p cooler at 314p.
Oil services group Hunting (LON:HTG) leaked 27p to 573p as falling oil prices hit oil & gas industry investment.
Strategic Minerals softened 0.08p to 0.45p on news of a tough 2014 for the US and New Zealand miner, although it said it was on the lookout for small acquisitions.