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Rises in banking stocks helped to offset a slide in commodity stocks which have been hit by concerns about the demand for raw materials.
According to Reuters, the FTSE 100 had risen 5.41 points by 09:05.
Neil Parker, a stock market strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland, commented: "Markets are looking for reasons to be positive but they're finding it quite difficult.
"There are some early signs of confidence returning to consumers, albeit with the spectre of unemployment limiting this."
Among the biggest fallers was Antofagasta which dropped 4.5 per cent.
The FTSE 100 ended 1.3 per cent down last week following gloomy unemployment news from the US.
Declines were led by mining company Anglo American which fell by 8.2 per cent.
