LONDON'S top-flight index finished on an all-time high for the second year in a row as surging mining stocks ensured a strong performance from the market.
The FTSE 100 closed up 64.89 points to a record 7,687.77, building on a stellar run thanks to a boost from London-listed commodity firms.
Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton lifted 84p to 3,942p and 23p to 1,464p respectively, as rising copper prices drove up demand.
Precious metal stocks were also in the ascendancy after the price of gold rose by $2.45 an ounce to $1,296.43.
Mexican-based miner Fresnillo was among the biggest risers, climbing 39p to 1,429p, while Randgold Resources was up 150p to 7,410p.
Away from the top tier, the FTSE 250 Index also reached its highest level in history, closing 83.95 points higher at 20,726.26.
Richard Stone, chief executive of The Share Centre, said: "For the second year in a row the FTSE 100 has ended the year at an all-time high.
"Personal investors will have been relieved this year by a respite from the high volatility seen in the last couple of years.
"The level of volatility this year has been remarkably low by historical standards and this has perhaps meant fewer trading opportunities for those investors who trade more actively.
"Market commentators have expressed concerns about valuation levels for some time indicating a correction may be on the horizon.
"However, the market appears to be shrugging off any such concerns and continuing to go from strength to strength."
Across Europe, Germany's Dax was down 0.5 per cent and the Cac 40 in France was 0.2 per cent lower.
On the currency markets, the pound was racing ahead after the US dollar took a downward turn, with sterling up 0.6 per cent versus the greenback at 1.35.
The UK currency was also marginally ahead against the euro, rising 0.2 per cent at 1.126.
In oil, Brent crude lifted 0.2 per cent to $66.34 a barrel after American refineries recorded an unexpected output fall.
Focusing on UK stocks, no-frills carrier Wizz Air soared three per cent higher after sealing a deal with Airbus for 146 new aircraft that are valued in excess of $17.2 billion (£13bn).
Shares were up 108p to 3,680p, with the agreement enabling the FTSE 250 firm to renew its existing fleet, provide additional capacity for further growth and offer lower fares.
The 72 A320neos and 74 A321neos have been purchased at a "significant discount" from the list price and Wizz Air will "retain flexibility in determining the most favourable method of financing" the fleet.
Balfour Beatty was also pushing ahead on the second tier after banking £62 million by selling an additional 7.5 per cent stake in Connect Plus, the company which operates and maintains the M25 motorway.
The firm said it has an unconditional right to sell the stake to funds managed by Dalmore Capital, but added that Equitix Investment Management has a priority right to buy the stake before March 13.
Shares were 4.2p ahead at 297p.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Old Mutual up 6.8p to 231.7p, Fresnillo up 39p to 1,429p, Just Eat up 21p to 781p, G4S up 6.5p to 267p.
The biggest fallers were Kingfisher down 6.8p to 337.7p, Berkeley Group down 38p to 4,197p, WPP down 10p to 1,341p, Johnson Matthey down 16p to 3,075p.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here