Slightly weaker than expected US housing market data and more evidence of the protracted and difficult recovery faced by America's labour market have erased some of the FTSE 100's gains in afternoon trading.
The UK bluechip index is up around 17 points, or 0.3%, at 5141, having earlier hit an intraday high of 5,172.43. Indices around Europe also pared gains and US futures have also lost ground ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street.
US data showed the number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to a seasonally adjusted 545,000. That was the lowest reading since early July and below a forecast of 555,000 from economists polled by Reuters.
But the previous week's number was revised up to 557,000 from 550,000 and the report also showed the number of people claiming benefits for more than a week rose by 129,000 to a seasonally adjusted 6.2m, more than economists had expected.
Separate data showed new US housing starts and permits rose in August to their highest level since November. The Commerce Department said housing starts rose 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 598,000 units, just below market expectations for 600,000 units.
