The FTSE 100 recovered this morning on a US decision to bail out the Bank of America, gaining 1.42 per cent by 08:40.
Miner Rio Tinto led the rise, as share jumped 7.78 per cent in early trading, followed by Xstrata, up 5.93 per cent and Barclays, up 5.6 per cent.
A move to prop up the ailing Bank of America with $20 billion by the US government helped boost confidence in the banking sector, while the mining sector benefited from a production report from Rio Tinto that met market expectations.
Shares on the Dow Jones index rose 0.15 per cent on the bailout news yesterday, while the rescue also sent shares on Japan's Nikkei 225 soaring 2.58 per cent.
Stocks in British Airways also received a lift, rising 3.61 per cent on a green light for Heathrow's third runway.
However, many stocks were still in the red, including HBOS, which tumbled 13.46 per cent after opening.
TUI Travel also fell, by 6.8 per cent, after parent firm TUI confirmed it would not be able to renegotiate the price it is getting for the Hapag-Lloyd container shipping business from a German consortium.
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