Britain's top share index rose 0.6 percent in midday trade on Monday, as miners rallied on firmer metal prices and M&A speculation boosted International Power and Cadbury, while broker comment weighed on defence stocks.
At 1218 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 32.82 points at 5,488.19, in subdued trade with U.S. markets closed for Martin Luther King day on Monday.
"A positive start but there is very little to go on with the lack of economic and corporate news until later this week," said Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"There has been interest in the retailers, which suggests some switching into cyclical stocks," he said.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.8 percent on Friday at 5,455.37, after weak U.S. data dented sentiment, but the blue chip index is up 58 percent from its six-year lows hit in March 2009.
"Markets don't go up in a straight line so a correction might be on the cards but equally that will give investors another opportunity to buy," added Hunter.
Miners rose on the back of stronger metal prices, which recovered as demand fears ebbed away. The sector shed 3.8 percent last weak after weaker-than-anticipated data from China and the United States.
Antofagasta, Anglo American, Vedanta Resources, Lonmin, Rio Tinto and Kazakhmys gained 0.5-3.2 percent.
International Power rose 4.5 percent, extending Friday's gains, after weekend press reports again linked French power generator GDF Suez to a takeover of the British company.
But the stock came off an earlier peak after a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that GDF Suez is in talks with International Power about a possible asset swap to expand its UK foothold.
British confectioner Cadbury was up 1.4 percent to 807 pence after the group's chief executive said the company could be worth more than 10 pounds a share by 2013 in an interview published in the Daily Telegraph's Monday edition.
Bidder Kraft, under British takeover panel rules, has until Tuesday Jan 19 to increase its 10.5 billion pound ($17.12 billion) hostile offer for Cadbury.
Life insurers, which have been the subject of consolidation speculation recently, saw support with Aviva Prudential, Standard Life and Legal & General up 0.7-2.1 percent.
SUPERMARKET SWEEP
Wm Morrison Supermarkets, which is tipped to report upbeat Christmas trading figures this week, rose 1.9 percent, while Sainsbury and Tesco, which have already reported robust numbers, added 0.3 and 0.8 percent respectively.
Other defensively-perceived issues joined the broad-based rally with pharmaceutical firms GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca adding 0.1 and 0.4 percent respectively, while Imperial Tobacco and British American Tobacco gained 0.7 and 0.2 percent.
On the downside, defence companies were weaker after BofA Merrill Lynch took a more cautious view on the sector in a review of European Aerospace issues.
BAE Systems and Cobham fell 1.4 and 1.1 percent respectively as were both downgraded by the broker to "neutral" from "buy".
Satellite communications firm Inmarsat dropped 0.8 percent as Goldman Sachs cut its rating to "neutral" from "buy".
