Markets steered clear of turbulence today as British Airways owner International Airlines Group helped the FTSE 100 Index avoid storm clouds threatened by the success of Greece's left-wing Syriza party in elections.
IAG was one of the biggest risers in the top-flight as it raised its takeover offer for Ireland's Aer Lingus, helping the index finish 19.6 points ahead at 6852.4 and inching closer to its record highs just above the 6900 mark.
The Greek poll result failed to spark turmoil, as investors took heart from comments by Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras that he did not want confrontation with international creditors over Greece's 240 billion euros bail-out package.
In Europe, Germany's Dax climbed strongly while France's Cac 40 was also ahead. New York's Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed.
On currency markets, the pound fell back from near seven-year highs against the single currency overnight, down by a cent to just under 1.34.
The euro has already taken a battering in recent days after the European Central Bank set out a 1.1 trillion euro (£820 billion) asset purchase programme.
Sterling was ahead against the US dollar at just under 1.51 in anticipation of strong UK growth figures tomorrow.
Meanwhile, oil prices were buoyed by comments from the head of OPEC that their slide may have reached its bottom. Brent crude lifted to just under 49 US dollars per barrel.
Exploration group BG Group topped the FTSE 100 risers' board, up 25.9p.or 3%, to 917.6p. Oil heavyweight BP climbed 6.6p to 439p while rival Royal Dutch Shell rose 30p to 2304p.
In corporate news, shares in energy supplier SSE were nearly 2% or 24p higher at 1516p after confirming that its full-year dividend would continue to rise by at least the inflation rate.
It also plans to cut gas prices from April 30 but revealed that it had lost nearly 400,000 customer accounts to 8.71 million in the nine months to the end of December.
Meanwhile, IAG climbed by 2% or 13p to 549p after it raised its offer for Aer Lingus to just over £1 billion.
There has been speculation that the board of Aer Lingus is prepared to accept the proposal, although the position of major shareholders Ryanair and the Irish government remains unclear.
Housebuilders received a boost after a bullish note from analysts at HSBC offset fears of a market slowdown caused by the looming election.
They said recent weakness was "a short-term blip to an upwards share price trend" and that "long-term fundamentals and corporate discipline are better than ever".
Persimmon climbed 35p to 1562p while Taylor Wimpey was up 2.1p to 135.2p and Barratt Developments rose 6.6p to 456.7p.
The biggest risers in the FTSE 100 Index were BG Group up 25.9p to 917.6p, Mondi up 28p to 1178p, International Airlines Group up 13p to 549p and Royal Mail up 10.3p to 451.3p.
The biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 Index were Coca-Cola HBC down 36p to 1076p, Tesco down 5.3p to 230p, Babcock International down 19p to 1034p and BAE Systems down 7p to 512p.
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