LONDON: Britain's benchmark share index rose on Thursday, lifted by gains in major financial stocks, although traders said the market's near-term progress would be stymied by uncertainty over this month's Brexit vote.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.4 percent at 6,213.40 points in early session trading.
The FTSE is down nearly 1 percent so far in 2016, and some 13 percent below a record high reached in April 2015, with concerns over a slowdown in China - the world's second-biggest economy - having hit global stock markets.
Banking stocks such as Barclays and Standard Chartered were among the best performers, tracking gains in rival European bank shares, with analysts at HSBC striking an upbeat note on Spanish banks.
However, some traders said they would use any move higher on the FTSE to sell out and cash in profits, given uncertainty over the Brexit vote this month on Britain's membership of the European Union.
"I'd be looking to sell the rallies here," said Dafydd Davies, partner at Charles Hanover Investments.
Concern about the June 23 referendum on Britain's EU membership also led to British construction orders falling last month for the first time in more than three years.
Shares in heating and plumbing supplies group Wolseley fell 1.3 percent, following broker downgrades on the stock, while the FTSE 350 Construction & Building Materials Index fell 0.3 percent.
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