The London market shrugged off disappointing data from the UK economy as a surge in the oil price boosted commodity stocks.
The FTSE 100 Index was up 42.1 points to 6178.7, as Brent crude climbed 3.3% to 40.73 US dollars a barrel.
Oil giants Royal Dutch Shell and BP felt the force of the rise, with shares stepping up 32p to 1708p and 7p to 346.3p respectively.
Heavyweight miners were also higher on the likelihood of livelier global trading, with Rio Tinto 24.5p higher at 1942p and BHP Billiton rising 6.1p to 733.6p.
Gains from the top-flight came despite UK factory output slumping in February, fuelling fears the economy is slowing down.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said manufacturing output dropped by 1.1% on the month in February, following a rise of 0.5% in January.
Meanwhile, separate figures from the ONS showed Britain’s trade gap narrowed in February, but its trade deficit with the EU widened to a fresh record ahead of the summer referendum.
It said the UK’s trade deficit with the EU hit £8.6 billion in the month, and £23.8 billion in the three months to January.
In Europe, Germany’s Dax was up 0.82% and the Cac 40 in France rose 0.88%.
The pound was also up marginally against the dollar at 1.40 after coming under pressure in previous sessions amid fears of Prime Minister David Cameron’s exposure to the Panama Papers and concerns about a possible British exit from the European Union.
Sterling also rose against the euro to 1.24.
Elsewhere, womenswear retailer Bonmarche said it is “cautious” about high street trading this year after colder weather hit the sales of new spring ranges.
The Wakefield-based firm said like-for-like sales edged up 0.4% in the 13 weeks to March 26, compared with a jump of 4.7% in the same period a year ago. Total sales lifted 5.2% in the period.
The group now says its profit will be at the lower end of its December guidance, which cut full-year pre-tax profit by as much as 20% to between £10.5 million and £12 million.
Shares slumped by almost 10%, or 18p, to 170p.
Marks and Spencer remained among the biggest risers following gains in the previous session when shares lifted on better-than-expected sales results.
The retail giant’s clothing and home like-for-like sales tumbled 2.7% in the 13 weeks to March 26, as price deflation created a “challenging backdrop” for trade.
But it beat City expectations of a 3.4% fall and improved on the third quarter when sales slumped 5.8%.
Shares were up 10p to 443p.
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