FTSE 100 finished just shy of the 7,700 level at 7,695 as Wall Street strength permeated through the markets.
The Footsie closed Thursday up around 24 points, or 0.32% to 7,695, while in the US, major benchmarks reached new highs, with the Dow Jones up over 25,000.
The FTSE 250 was also higher - up over 76 points at 20,820.
"The upbeat outlook from the Federal Reserve minutes last night has sent US stock to record highs," said David Madden at CMC Markets.
"The Dow Jones has crossed the 25,000 mark and the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 have also registered fresh all-time highs."
Madden said the strong ADP employment report had set the tone for tomorrow's (Friday's) non-farm payrolls report.
That showed that 250,000 jobs were added in December, while the consensus was for 190,000.
On Footsie, the top gainer was NMC Health (LON:NMC), which advanced 5.48% to 3,080p as the healthcare group agreed to snap up outstanding stakes in two hospitals in the Middle East.
Top laggard was Marks and Spencer Group Plc (LON:MKS) which lost 3.65% to 308.8p as retailers weighed generally after a report from Debenhams (LON:DEB) showed it struggled to get shoppers through the door over Christmas.
The record highs seen over on Wall Street seem to have put the proverbial rocket up the FTSE 100's backside.
The blue chip index has broken through the 6,700 barrier for the first time ever as it follows the lead set by the Dow Jones a few minutes ago.
It is currently at 7,694.6 - a 0.3% or 23.5 point gain - but it did reach 7,702.5 just after 3pm UK time to set a fresh peak.
NMC Health plc (LON:NMC) is comfortably the top blue chip riser - up 6% to ?30.96 after the healthcare group agreed to snap up outstanding stakes in two hospitals in the Middle East.
Among the other top risers were a couple more acronyms. Building materials firm CRH PLC (LON:CRH) wasn't too far behind NMC with a gain of 2.5% for the day so far to leave it at ?27.47, while security contractor G4S PLC's (LON:GFS) little resurgence continued - up 3.4% to 274.2p.
Topping the losers was Marks and Spencer Group Plc (LON:MKS) which, after a little run over the past couple of weeks, seems to have fallen victim to an update from one of its high street peers.
Shares in Marks' are down 3.2% to 310.3p, largely as a result of investors pulling out of the retail sector on the back of a Christmas shocker from Debenhams PLC (LON:DEB).
Even though it slashed prices to remain competitive, the department store still struggled to get shoppers through the door over the key Christmas trading period and said annual profits would be lower than expected as a result.
Debs is one of the biggest fallers anywhere in London, down 14.3% to 30.5p.
The commercial property market has been in the doldrums for a while now with activity in the sector having fallen in each of the last six months.
Hammerson PLC (LON:HMSO) (down 2.5% to 533.2p), Land Securities Group PLC (LON:LAND) (down 2.3% to 972p) and British Land Company PLC (LON:BLND) (down 2.1% to 664.4p) all came under further pressure, with some claiming Debenhams could be to blame again.
An upturn for the UK retailers would've been good news for the slowing industry as the likelihood of lucrative new projects getting the go-ahead would've increased.
Such a turnaround looked possible after Next Plc's (LON:NXT) solid Christmas update on Wednesday, but Debenhams has thrown that theory into doubt today.
Brexit has also been blamed (when hasn't it) with fewer firms said to be looking to commit to moving offices until they have a better understanding of how smooth the exit will be.
Over in New York, the opening bell has (once again) seen US market set fresh highs as the recent surge in stocks, buoyed by Trump's tax reforms, shows no sign of stopping.
The Dow Jones has finally broken through the 25,000 barrier - as it's threatened to do on several occasions recently - after it added 107.3 points to yesterday's close to open at 25,030.0.
The benchmark S&P 500 index also hit a new record high after opening up 9.4 points in the black at 2,722.4. The Nasdaq completed the trio, advancing 37.5 points to 7,093.9.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has nearly quadrupled since its low of 6,626 is March 2009 to more than 25,000 today.
Pretty remarkable.
According to MasterCard, US shoppers went on a recording spending spree over the holiday season - a key trading period for the retailers.
US punters parted with around US$800bn ( ?590bn) as consumer confidence continues to grow.
Department store group JC Penney was one of the big winners after it reported a 3.4% rise in same-store sales in November and December.
It was a bit a bit more of a mixed bag for rival Macy's, which saw like-for-like sales rise 1% during the period but it also announced more store closures and jobs cuts.
The Dow Jones has been on the brink of breaching the 25,000 mark for the past few weeks but has so far come up just short.
The index is set to open just shy once again at 24,999.3 - a gain of 88 points - but that gives it more than a fighting chance of topping 25,000 at some point in today's session.
Fresh from setting more fresh peaks, the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 both look set to enter uncharted territory again this morning.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq is seen opening 30.1 points higher at 6,601.3, while spread betting firms expects the benchmark S&P 500 index to rise 5.8 points to 2,717.4.
Looking to this afternoon and the Dow Jones may finally reach the magic 25000 mark," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.
"In terms of data there's a preview of Friday's non-farm jobs report with the ADP figure, expected to rise from 190k to 191k, alongside the final Market services PMI for December, forecast to slide from November's 54.5 to 52.4."
Traders look to be keen on acronyms today. Healthcare group NMC Health plc (LON:NMC) is still the top blue chip riser - up 3.9% to ?30.34 after it agreed to snap up outstanding stakes in two hospitals in the Middle East.
Building materials firm CRH PLC (LON:CRH) wasn't too far behind with a gain of 2.5% for the day so far to leave it at ?27.45, while security contractor G4S PLC's (LON:GFS) little resurgence continued - up 2.5% to 272p.
The oil supermajors also flowed higher as Brent crude prices rose above US$68 a barrel for the first time in almost three years on fears that unrest in Iran - the third largest oil producer in the OPEC cartel - will disrupt supplies.
As you'd expect, the likes of BP PLC (LON:BP.) (up 0.9% to 528.8p) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LON:RDSB) (up 0.4% to ?25.43) both eked out small gains.
All of those have helped the FTSE 100 to keep its head above water, with the index 13.4 points, or 0.2%, higher at 7,684.5
On the flip side is Marks and Spencer Group Plc (LON:MKS) which, after a little run over the past couple of weeks, seems to have fallen victim to an update from one of its high street peers.
Shares in Marks' are down 3.2% to 310.3p making it the biggest blue chip faller, largely as a result of investors pulling out of the retail sector on the back of a Christmas shocker from Debenhams PLC (LON:DEB).
Even though it slashed prices to remain competitive, the department store still struggled to get shoppers through the door over the key Christmas trading period and was forced to lower its profits guidance as a result.
Debs is one of the biggest fallers anywhere in London, down 14.3% to 30.5p.
Elsewhere, the commercial property market has been in the doldrums for a while now with activity in the sector having fallen in each of the last six months.
An upturn for the UK retailers would've been good news for the slowing industry as the likelihood of lucrative new projects getting the go-ahead would've increased, but Debenhams' update seems to have put a dent in that hope.
Brexit has also been blamed (when hasn't it) with fewer firms said to be looking to commit to moving offices until they have a better understanding of how smooth the exit will be.
Anyway, Hammerson PLC (LON:HMSO) (down 2% to 536.2p), Land Securities Group PLC (LON:LAND) (down 2% to 974.9p) and British Land Company PLC (LON:BLND) (down 1.5% to 668.4p) were also nursing sizeable losses on Thursday.
Anyway, Irn Bru fans have reportedly started stockpiling the famous orange drink after its owners confirmed it is changing the recipe before the new sugar tax comes into force later this year.
AG Barr PLC (LON:BAG) - which also distributes Snapple and Rubicon in the UK - is looking to cut half of the drink's sugar content by using aspartame instead.
But loyal Irn Bru drinkers aren't happy as the new flavour hitting shop shelves this month.
In fact, the frustration is such that a petition has been set up calling on A G Barr to revert to the old recipe and almost 7,000 people have signed it so far.
There have even been stories on social media of people buying up to 250 cans and bottles of the 'old stuff' to prolong the sweet taste of Irn Bru for that much longer.
Jesus, I need to stock up on the original. Cans or glass bottles only. The black market for original @irnbru could be huge, but I would neck my own supply. https://t.co/a1aDAZS3Wn
- Lee Lavery (@Leelavz) January 4, 2018
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares are down 2.8% in pre-market trade over in New York after the electric car maker delayed a production target for its new Model 3 sedan for a second time.
Elon Musk's company said it expects to build around 2,500 Model 3s per week by the end of the March - half the number it had promised before.
Tesla now reckons it will reach its target of 5,000 vehicles a week by the end of the second quarter, but it's still a disappointment for investors given the need for the Model 3 to be a success.
In about 30 minutes' time the bosses of Britain's biggest companies will have made more money in the first few days 2018 than the average UK worker will earn over the next 12 months.
The chief executives of FTSE 100 firms are paid an average of almost ?3.5mln a year, which works out at 120 times the ?28,758 taken home by the average UK worker.
On an hourly basis, the blue chip bosses will have earned more in less than three working days than the average employee - leading some to call today 'Fat Cat Thursday'.
TUC general secretary said it was outrageous that CEOs are taking home salaries that "look like telephone numbers" while workers' wage growth stagnates.
When you find out Fat Cat Thursday is about gross systematic inequality and not the celebration of chubby kitties pic.twitter.com/M2GUkNKAVc
- Rachel O'Regan (@life_in_fiction) January 4, 2018
Despite the issues thrown up by Brexit, rampant inflation hitting peoples' pockets and uncertainty after June's general election, UK house prices still grew by 2.6% in 2017.
Nationwide said that was a "modest" rise compared to the 4.5% jump in 2016, although it was in line with what the lender had expected.
Surprisingly, London was the worst performing region for the first time since 2004, with house prices in the capital down 0.5% year-on-year.
"It's been 13 years since the Capital sat at the bottom of the house price growth table, and since then we have seen prices surge to unprecedented and unaffordable levels," said Alex Gosling, founder of HouseSimple.com.
"Fortunately, there's no longer the reliance on the London market to prop up the rest of the country. Growing regional business hubs have seen other major UK cities prosper, while London has suffered as property prices have become unaffordable for the majority."
London house prices fell in 2017 for the first time in eight years, Nationwide reports ???? https://t.co/dHNTuuZwbL pic.twitter.com/zpHtSM8I4i
- Graeme Wearden (@graemewearden) January 4, 2018
"Debenhams has been forced to cut prices to persuade shoppers to part with their cash, and as a result margins have been squeezed, profits have been significantly downgraded, and the share price has taken a massive hit," says Hargreaves Lansdown senior analyst Laith Khalaf.
"On Wednesday Next's trading update hinted that the retail environment might not be as bad as feared, though the latest announcement from Debenhams illustrates the danger of drawing too many conclusions from a sample of one.
"By this time next week we should have a much better idea of how the retail industry and the UK consumer is doing, with the likes of M&S, John Lewis, Tesco and Sainsbury handing in their Christmas scorecards.
He adds: "There's only one certain winner in this season's retail sector results, and that's the digital sales channel. It's telling that the market celebrated 1.5% sales growth from Next, while online retailer ASOS is growing sales by over 30% a year."
Debenhams PLC (LON:DEB) might be taking all the headlines in the retail sector after it endured a miserable holiday season.
What's gone under the radar perhaps is that a few high street retailers enjoyed a far merrier Christmas.
Outdoor clothing and equipment store Mountain Warehouse reported recorded sales over the Christmas period, partly helped by people shopping for thermals and waterproofs in the wake of the bad weather.
German discounter Aldi was another which racked up record sales in the UK and Ireland last month, helping the firm to cross the ?10bn mark in annual sales for the first time.
Convenience store group Nisa also enjoyed the festive period, with like-for-like sales edging 1.7% higher in the 10 weeks to 31 December.
I see from the share register that Mike Ashley - he of Sports Direct and Newcastle United fame still owns 20% of Debenhams - ouch!
- David Buik (@truemagic68) January 4, 2018
It's been another quiet start in London this morning. The FTSE 100 jumped at the opening bell after US markets hit fresh highs AGAIN on Wednesday but things have calmed down since.
The index of blue chip shares is currently up 8.5 points, or 0.1%, to 7,679.6.
Middle East-focused healthcare group NMC Health plc (LON:NMC) was the morning's biggest gainer after it confirmed it had bought the outstanding stakes in two hospitals for US$218mln.
Boss Prasanth Manghat said the deals were part of the firm's plan to expand its operations and that the two healthcare centres - one in Dubai and the other in Saudi Arabia - represented "highly value accretive" additions.
Investors agreed and the share price jumped 3.5% early on Thursday to ?30.22.
Banks were in demand after a more dovish than expected US Federal Reserve still hinted last night that it would look to push through multiple interest rate rises this year.
As a result, Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON:LLOY) saw its shares rise 0.9% to 68.1p, while Standard Chartered PLC (LON:STAN) zipped 1.8% higher to 791.8p.
Marks and Spencer Group Plc (LON:MKS) was the main drag on the footsie, down 2.4% to 312.9p, following the disappointing Christmas update from Debenhams PLC (LON:DEB).
Shares in the London-listed department store sunk by 16.4% to 29.7p after it saw UK like-for-like sales drop by 2.6% in the 17 weeks to 30 December.
Debenhams blamed a "volatile and competitive" market for the weak performance, claiming it had to slash prices just to try and keep up with its rivals.
Also suffering on the back of that update were commercial property developers Hammerson PLC (LON:HMSO) (down 1.2% to 540.6p) and British Land Company PLC (LON:BLND) (down 1.4% to 669.2p), although the latter also went ex-div today.
Both firms specialise in redeveloping shopping centres and retail outlets, which obviously exposes them to the vagaries of the sector.
They also enjoyed a sharp uptick towards the end of 2017 following consolidation in the sector - including Hammerson's ?3.4bn takeover of Intu.
The FTSE 100 kicked off a dull day in the City on the front foot, buoyed by dovish sentiments gleaned from the latest US Federal Reserve minutes and better-than-expected Chinese service sector data.
The twin positives pushed the index of blue chip shares 25 points higher to 7,696.30.
The technical analysts believe the Footsie could stride decisively higher if it is able to punch through 7,700.
"[This should] open the door to the channel ceiling around 7,750," said Mike van Dulken of Accendo Markets. "Bears require a break below 7,660 if they want to revisit late-December lows of 7610."
Shares of Whitebread (LON:WTB) were in demand, rising 1.4% after its festive trading statement passed muster.
Next (LON:NXT), upgraded by HBSC to 'hold' from 'reduce', succumbed a bout of profit-taking a day on from its update, which defied the City's gloomy predictions and shoved the stock 8% higher.
Early on Next was down around 1%. However, the Footsie's biggest casualty was Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS), which dropped back 2% as a sense of reality returned to the retail sector.
Dropping down to the market minnows, Symphony Environmental (LON:SYM) was in demand after it said it was raising its profit forecasts for a second time. Shares in the biodegradable plastics specialist were marked 17% higher and have advanced 265% in the last year.
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON:SYM) said profits in the year just finished will be significantly higher than current market expectations.
The positive data from the phase II trial of Futura Medical PLC's (LON:FUM) MED2002 erectile dysfunction gel has been published in the well-respected and peer-reviewed Journal of Sexual Medicine.
LEKOIL Ltd (LON:LEK) told investors it has signed up a contractor for a new seismic programme at the Otakikpo field in Nigeria. The company's joint venture vehicle Green Energy International has hired a Sinopec unit for the programme, which will capture just under 200 square kilometres of 3D data, spanning both the onshore and offshore areas.
Digital marketing services group Be Heard Group PLC (LON:BHRD) had mixed news on Wednesday, reporting strong revenue growth but lowering profits guidance.
SDX Energy Inc (LON:SDX, CVE:SDX) has confirmed that the recently drilled KSR-16 well, onshore Morocco, has now been connected to the sales line and flow testing will start early next week. The company also said it has decided to end operations on the ELQ-1 well, on the Gharb Centre permit, after encountered intervals were deemed not to be sufficiently commercial to complete the well.
Glycotest, the majority-owned portfolio company of Netscientific PLC (LON:NSCI), has reported positive results from a clinical evaluation of its HCC Panel liver cancer test.
It has taken a while, but the board of BOS GLOBAL Holdings Ltd (LON:BOS) once again has the minimum number of directors required by its constitution following the appointment of Michael Wilczynski to the board as a non-executive.
The FTSE 100 is expected to start another relatively quiet trading session on the front foot
Activity levels may be decidedly holiday-like in these early days of the New Year, though there are supporting factors for equities.
Chinese economic stats, coming from the services sector, were some way ahead expectations overnight, meanwhile, in America, Trump's tax changes are being welcomed in terms of investor sentiment.
Federal Reserve meeting minutes, revealed on Wednesday, had a degree of positivity - albeit the changing of the guard at the Fed makes the market's usual guessing game a little less predictable.
"The minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting last month pointed out the US central bank foresees higher economic growth on the back of the tax cuts, but the central bankers are divided over how much of an economic boost it will bring about," said David Madden, analyst at CMC Markets.
"The Fed hiked interest rates three time last year, and some traders feel that will be repeated this year, while others feel there could even be a fourth hike.
"The outlook of the Fed could undergo a substantial change, as there is going to be a change up in terms of members."
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones ended the session up nearly 100 points or 0.4% at 24,922 while the S&P 500 gained 0.64% to end the day at 2,713 and the Nasdaq climbed 0.84% to 7,065.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei advanced 3.26% to 23,506 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was around up 0.6% to 30,736, and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.34% to 3,380.
Australia's ASX 200, meanwhile, edged 0.11% higher to 6,077.
London's FTSE 100 is seen about 10 points higher, with CFD and spreadbetting firm IG Markets calling the blue chip benchmark at 7,685 to 7,689 about an hour before Thursday's open.
The City's schedule is practically empty in terms of promised corporate news.
AGM: Cambria Automobiles PLC (LON:CAMB)
FTSE 100 ex-dividends: To clip 0.83 points off index - British Land PLC (LON:BLND), Experian PLC (LON:EXPN); Next Plc (LON:NXT)
Economic data: UK services PMI; UK mortgage approvals; US Chicago PMI