Higher commodity prices lifted miners while banks also gained early on Tuesday, but weak results from Marks & Spencer dented retailers, limiting gains for Britain's top share index.
By 0752 GMT the FTSE 100 was up 0.4 percent or 18.41 points at 4,464.86 after gaining 2.3 percent to close at 4,446.45 the previous session.
The world's top policymakers offered their most upbeat assessment of the global economy in months, saying it was stabilising and that it could start to grow again as soon as late this year.
This added to the sense that the demand outlook was improving, lifting metal prices and boosting mining stocks.
Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys, Eurasian Natural Resources, Anglo American, Lonmin and BHP Billiton gained between 1.9 and 4.3 percent.
However, some analysts were unconvinced that the gains were sustainable.
"We're nervously following international markets higher and I'm not sure that there's justification for that," said Howard Wheeldon at BGC Partners.
Financial stocks were also beneficiaries of the improved sentiment, while news that Britain has held talks with investors to gauge their interest in part-nationalised lenders also boosted interest in the sector.
HSBC, Standard Chartered, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group added 0.6-4.1 percent.
International interest in the potential sale of parts of the UK banking sector also helped to boost the pound, which hit a five-month high against the dollar.
Life insurers were also buoyed by the increase in risk appetite. Aviva, Legal & General, Prudential, Standard Life and Standard Life added 1.2 -1.8 percent.
ICAP added 6.1 percent after the world's largest interdealer broker beat forecasts with a 5 percent rise in annual pretax profit.
Investors will watch CPI data at 0830 GMT for more clues on the outlook for the economy with deflation a possible drag on any recovery. Analysts polled by Reuters forecast that CPI will dip to 2.4 percent while RPI is seen sliding to -1.1 percent.
MARKS LOSES SPARKLE
But the UK index underperformed its European peers as signs that UK consumer spending is suffering in the face of the recession hurt retailers.
Marks & Spencer was the heaviest faller on the blue-chip index, down 7.4 percent after it posted an expected 40 percent slide in full-year profit and cut its final dividend to preserve cash.
The retailer has had a strong run this year and is still up 64 percent since its trough for the last 12 months set in September.
Peer Next slipped 3.9 percent while other retailers also suffered, with Tesco, Morrison and Home Retail off between 1.4 and 2.4 percent.
Rolls Royce fell 2.5 percent after UBS cut the engineer to "sell" from "neutral".
