At 08:48 BST, the index was up 0.41 per cent or 20.79 points to 5,100.06.
Leading the gains was packaging group Rexam – up 1.68 per cent.
BHP Billiton rose 1.62 per cent, Cable & Wireless climbed 1.47 per cent, BG Group was up 1.31 per cent, and BP gained 1.08 per cent.
Private equity firm 3i was down 2.69 per cent after it was revealed new investments were down 75 per cent.
Petrofac fell 2.15 per cent, Lloyds Banking lost 1.87 per cent and business space provider Segro lost 1.83 per cent.
In New York last night, the Dow was down 0.42 per cent to 9,707.44, while Chicago's S&P 500 was down 0.95 per cent to 1,050.78.
On the currency markets, sterling was down against the dollar and the euro.
£1 stood at $1.599, down 0.39 per cent, and at €1.089, down 0.60 per cent.
David Lamb, head of treasury services at No1 Currency, said: 'The pound has continued its slide against other major currencies as investors continue to view the UK fiscal position as a threat to the nation’s AAA credit rating.'
However, this week the currency has stabilised, he explained.
'Having shed over four per cent against the euro from its highs near the beginning of the month and a little over 3.5 per cent against a broadly weak US dollar over the last two weeks, sterling has finally managed to stabilise this week on a mixture of continued dollar weakness and some assistance from the technical picture against the euro,' Mr Lamb said.
'The long term outlook for the UK remains precarious and as such, any sterling rallies will likely be used as selling opportunities where a sustained break below €1.10 would bring the dreaded parity level back into focus.'
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