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Britain's top share index rose by 0.2 per cent to reach 5,803.81 points by 15:20 GMT, having earlier brushed 5,805.76.
Mining stocks were up as investors reacted positively to the possibility of a deal between Glencore and Xstrata.
"A combination of the two companies is likely to provide a boost to the mining sector overall and a bullish signal to the market," Reuters quoted Oriel Securities as saying in a note.
Shares in Glencore rose 5.4 per cent, while Xstrata was up 9.8 per cent and Vedanta - also a commodity stock - added 4.7 per cent.
Other risers included Icap and Smith & Nephew, which increased by 5.2 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively.
Meanwhile, Unilever fell by four per cent, AstraZeneca slipped by 3.8 per cent, Severn Trent was down by 3.4 per cent, Arm Holdings declined by 2.5 per cent and Eurasian was 2.2 per cent lower.
Posted by Chris Weaver
