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According to Reuters, the benchmark index has risen 44.01 points to 5,081.22 at 11:44 GMT.
Next and Marks & Spencer, which both posted positive financial results today, were two of the biggest gainers in the morning session, rising by 6.2 per cent and 5.8 per cent respectively.
This followed yesterday's announcement from Primark owner Associated British Foods, which revealed a five per cent jump in its adjusted earnings per share for the year to September 12th.
Banks rebounded from yesterday's fall as Lloyds Banking Group advanced 0.4 per cent and Royal Bank of Scotland climbed by 3.1 per cent, while there were also gains for HSBC, Standard Chartered and Barclays.
Demand for defensive stocks was weaker as investors opted to purchase riskier assets, causing pharmaceutical firms AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline to decline, along with drink producer Diageo.
Posted by Greg Secker
