The Reed share price gain coaxed publisher Pearson up 2.2 percent. Oil majors BP and Shell rose 0.5 percent and 0.8 percent, supported by firmer oil prices as talk persisted of a possible cut in Opec production when the oil exporting group meets in March.
The FTSE 100 closed 4.2 points higher at 5,057.4 after touching 5,077.6, its highest reading since late May 2002, losing ground late in the session after a 50-point fall in the Dow Jones industrial average prompted by weak US leading indicator data.
Market-watchers said the FTSE was always likely to run out of steam after a rally which has boosted the blue chip index more than 5 percent since the beginning of the year, especially as much-talked-about bids have failed to turn into actual take-overs.
"Some stocks are looking a bit stretched. There isn't any sign of any major bid in the FTSE and it's going to need something more to propel it along another notch," said a trader.
"Maybe you've got a little more to go but we've cut our equity weighting last week from a big overweight to a small overweight on the basis that there's only really a few percent left to go for," said Graham Secker, UK Equity Strategist at Morgan Stanley. "We'd cite rising US interest rates, falling leading indicators and negative earnings revisions in the last 3 months as reasons why the market is probably going to run into a few headwinds over the course of the next quarter or so," he added.
Shares in oil explorer Cairn Energy closed 6 percent higher, buoyed by news of a discovery in India and a raised 2005 oil output forecast, although the shares need to rise another 15 percent if the firm is to remain in the FTSE 100 after a March 8 reshuffle, according to Reuters data.
The shares' continued presence in the FTSE 100 came into doubt after a steep fall late last year triggered by disappointing drilling results, which dented faith in the firm's ability to continue its spectacular run at finding oil in India.
The broader oil industry also got a lift as crude prices rose above $48 a barrel on the Opec talk and following record profits from French oil firm Total.
Steelmaker Corus also featured among top blue chip gainers with a 3.3 percent rise after its sector peer Arcelor said it had doubled core profits last year.
Mobile phone company mmO2 closed 3.4 percent up, touching a record high on a report that a private equity firm is interested in buying Italian telecoms firm Wind at a lofty valuation, which dealers said indicates mmO2 could be undervalued.
But some stocks lagged the broader market, including retailer Kingfisher after it revealed that sales growth had slowed and its UK do-it-yourself chain B&Q was being hit by tougher competition and slowing consumer spending. Kingfisher lost 2.4 percent.
Asian-focused bank Standard Chartered also hung back with a 1.2 percent fall as analysts said its shares looked overvalued.
Among the midcaps, publisher Euromoney Institutional gained 9.1 percent, buoyed by the results from Reed, while Pendragon rose 7.4 percent. The UK's biggest car dealer posted a 47 percent rise in 2004 profit and said it planned to hunt for more acquisitions after buying a rival early last year.