//
Energy and mining shares were among the biggest gainers on the index, which was up 1.8 per cent on 5,245.77 points by 09:03 BST, Reuters reports.
There were increases of between 2.8 per cent and 3.6 per cent for Eurasian Natural Resources, Xstrata, Vedanta Resources and Kazakhmys in the mining sector.
And BP, which has seen its share price decline over recent days as it struggles to contain the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, added 2.1 per cent as its latest attempt to halt the flow of oil got underway.
Henk Potts, market strategist for Barclays Wealth, was quoted by the news agency as saying investors are "enthusiastic about the fact that companies are offering pretty solid outlook predictions".
However, he noted there is still the risk of "further storms" on the global markets.
The increase on the FTSE 100 has been replicated around Europe, with the FTSEurofirst 300 up two per cent to 1,023.72 points at 09:12 BST.
Posted by Greg Secker
