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UK shares remained on the front foot on Friday, pushing the FTSE 100 index to its second consecutive closing high.

The FTSE 100 closed up 9 points to 7,424.96, although that is just short of the record intra-day high of 7,444.62 hit on Thursday.

RBS was among the risers on the FTSE 100, closing up 1.4% after upbeat comments from analysts at Natixis.

In the FTSE 250, shares in Tullow Oil slumped by 14% on news of a rights issue.

Tullow said it was planning to raise about £607m through the share sale in order to cut its debts.

Housebuilder Berkeley Group was the biggest riser in the FTSE 250, climbing 6% after it said its full-year profits were set to be at the top end of forecasts.

The company added that the housing market in London and the South East had now "stabilised" since the post-Brexit vote fall in sales.

On the currency markets, the pound was up 0.21% against the dollar at $1.2385 and sterling was also up 0.4% against the euro at 1.1521 euros.