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According to Reuters, the blue-chip index gained as much 0.9 per cent after closing down by more than 20 points in the previous session.
In related news, statistics from the British Retail Consortium showed that like-for-like retail sales fell year-on-year for the second consecutive month.
More positive manufacturing data saw the value of US stocks rise yesterday and the Federal Reserve released figures showing that the rate of economic contraction was slowing.
Speaking to a group of students at a university in Atlanta, Fed boss Ben Bernanke said that necessary steps would be taken to strengthen the country's economy and unclog the financial markets.
"A levelling out of economic activity is the first step towards recovery," he commented, adding: "We will not have a sustainable recovery without a stabilisation of our financial system and credit markets."
