Britain's leading share index rose 0.3 percent early on Tuesday, lifted by oil majors and mining stocks on higher commodity and oil prices, while banks were mostly higher.
By 0800 GMT the FTSE 100, which is up more than 28 percent since slumping to a six-year trough in March, was 13.35 points higher at 4,418.57.
The index closed 33.34 points or 0.8 percent lower at 4,405.22 on Monday weighed down by weakness in commodity stocks and banks and political uncertainty after dire European election results for the ruling Labour party.
"The market has already reacted to and has an anticipation that the trend of economic data is going to get better for the remainder of the year," said Jim Wood-Smith, head of research at Williams de Broe.
"What that means now is that it is less sensitive to upside positive shocks and becoming slightly more sensitive to downside shocks or bad news."
Energy stocks tracked crude prices higher with oil reaching over $69 a barrel. BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Tullow Oil and Cairn Energy were up between 0.8 and 2.5 percent.
Higher commodity prices lifted shares in Antofagasta up 3.1 percent. Rio Tinto, Kazakhmys, Eurasian Natural Resources, Anglo American, Lonmin and BHP Billiton were up 1.3-3.1 percent.
Shares in Lloyds Banking Group rose 4.4 percent on speculation the bank will cut some 1,400 jobs and close all branches of the Cheltenham & Banking Group Plc.
The bank said on Monday it will repay about 2.6 billion pounds ($4.1 billion) to the UK government.
Barclays was higher 1.8 percent on news the bank is in talks to sell Barclays Global Investors, with U.S. fund manager BlackRock the frontrunner to land the asset manager for about $12 billion.
Standard Chartered and Royal Bank of Scotland were up 1 and 2 percent but heavyweight HSBC fell 2.4 percent as traders cited concerns that a major stakeholder may need to place shares.
POLITICAL JITTERS
Political uncertainty over support for Prime Minister Gordon Brown has dented market sentiment. However Brown beat off a challenge to his authority on Monday, winning over Labour members of parliament after admitting mistakes and taking responsibility for a week of political turmoil.
British retail sales fell in May, as stores struggled to match strong gains booked last year, a survey by the British Retail Consortium showed on Tuesday.
"Those who are very disappointed by this news are clearly clutching at green shoots," said Rob Pike, Head of Trading at ShortsandLongs.com, "April's retail figures were strong thanks to the Easter holiday and some welcome balmy weather. But it would be naive to think that the high street is now on the road to recovery."
Meanwhile, British companies expect to keep cutting jobs in the next three months, but the pace of job-shedding appears to be easing in some sectors, a survey showed on Tuesday.
House prices in England and Wales fell at their slowest annual pace in 1-1/2 years in the three months to May and completed sales hit a nine-month high in a sign the market may be over the worst, a survey showed on Tuesday.
Investors will also look to the Department of Communities & Local Government (DCLG) House Prices report for May, due at 0830 GMT, for further clues as to the state of the housing market.
