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According to Reuters, the benchmark index was up 0.7 per cent - or 37.29 points - to 5,254.90 points at 11:34 GMT in London.
Oil companies recorded the biggest gains in the morning session, with BP rising two per cent after its rating was raised to 'buy' from 'neutral' by Goldman Sachs.
Elsewhere, Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group added 2.2 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively and in the mining sector, there were gains of as much as three per cent among BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Antofagasta, Vedanta Resources, Kazakhmys and Randgold Resources.
"The miners are making some in roads today thanks largely to the weaker US dollar helping to push copper and gold prices higher," remarked market expert Joshua Raymond.
Much of the banking sector was lower on the back of worries about new capital regulations, with Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays lower midway through trading.
Posted by Greg Secker
