The FTSE 100 edged higher on Friday, with gains in financial stocks offsetting weakness across the energy, mining, healthcare and consumer sectors.
HSBC and Lloyds Banking rose more than 1%, while Barclays, NatWest and Standard Chartered also advanced.
Antofagasta traded modestly higher after resuming operations at its Los Pelambres copper mine following a weather-related disruption.
Reckitt Benckiser also posted small gains after announcing the sale of its Russian hygiene business to Arnest Management, a deal expected to result in a post-tax loss of about £175 million.
Meanwhile, Shell and BP came under pressure as oil prices eased after their recent rally.
On the economic front, UK retail sales surprised to the upside, rising 1% in June against expectations of a 0.3% decline.
Excluding fuel, sales increased 1.1%, well above forecasts for a 0.5% fall.
The FTSE 100 remained on track for a weekly gain of around 0.7%.