FTSE climbs to highest close in 4 weeks

By Harpreet Bhal

LONDON (Reuters) - Strong U.S. corporate results and improving U.S. economic data lifted the top share index by 2.6 percent to its highest close in four weeks on Wednesday.

Led by energy firms and banks, the FTSE 100 index ended up 108.78 points at 4,346.46, its third day of gains.

The benchmark is up 5.3 percent this week, on track for its best weekly gain in two months.

Chip maker Intel maintained the positive tone of U.S. second-quarter earnings with better-than-expected results, following upbeat figures from Goldman Sachs.

The market was also buoyed by a key regional U.S. factory survey which posted its strongest reading in a year this month and data showing U.S. industrial output declining at a slower pace in June.

Analysts said market direction will likely be dictated by a slew of corporate earnings from the United States this week.

"We have got a number of global giants still to report later this week and the balance of the second quarter results still remains very important," said Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Energy firms added the most points to the index as crude oil rose to $60.85 after data showed a fall in gasoline stocks.