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Following the announcement by the US Federal Reserve, the London index was up 0.8 per cent to 4,754.36 points at 09:07 BST, Reuters reports.
Lonmin, Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys and Xstrata rose by as much as 4.2 per cent as mining stocks climbed.
An increase in oil prices led to energy companies such as BG Group, Royal Dutch Shell and BP jumping, while there were also gains for banks and insurers.
Market strategist Joshua Raymond explained that investors are choosing to "delve into risky assets on optimism that a stabilising US economy will help drag the UK out of recession sooner rather than later".
As a result, a number of defensive stocks retreated, with Thomas Cook declining by 5.9 per cent on the news that it is unlikely to meet the operating profit target of £480 million it has set for 2010.
