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The benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 rose 0.2 per cent to 859.61 points at 11:39 BST, Reuters reports, with mining firms performing strongly.
A 2.2 per cent increase in the price of copper helped BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Xstrata, Anglo American and Antofagasta to climb in value and offset declining pharmaceutical stocks.
Banks also performed well, with surges of between 1.4 per cent and 4.4 per cent recorded by Lloyds Banking Group, Banco Santander, UniCredit and BNP Paribas.
Despite the gains, market strategist Joshua Raymond noted that trading will be "largely muted" for the remainder of the day.
"We have the bank holiday to look forward to so the investors who sold yesterday could well be looking to take a breather today," he explained.
The upcoming break, Mr Raymond added, will give traders the chance to "re-evaluate" the recent rallies that have been seen on the markets
