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According to Reuters, the benchmark index was 0.8 per cent higher at 12:00 BST, taking it to 4,682.13 points.
Xstrata was one of the biggest gainers in the morning session – adding 5.5 per cent – and there were also rises for Kazakhmys, Rio Tinto and Eurasian Natural Resources as investors began to return to the mining sector.
Among the financial firms there were gains for Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC and Standard Chartered, while oil companies BP, Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group also climbed.
Some defensive stocks retreated during trading, with Tesco and Morrisons both falling in the retail sector.
And British Land also finished the morning session lower after ending speculation that it may be the subject of a takeover bid.
At Midday on Monday concerns among investors regarding the speed of a financial recovery had resulted in the FTSE sliding by two per cent to 4,621.31 points.
