The FTSE has been moving sideways so far today, with news flows thin and trading volumes light ahead of the Christmas break.
By 10:35am (London time) the blue-chip Index was trading up 11.53 points (+0.21%) to 5383.91, while the broader FTSE 250 was 4.54 points (+0.05%) above its previous close at 9198.93.
The blue-chip index market was kept afloat by the heavyweight gains across the mining sector. Silver miner Fresnillo was the sector's best performer, up 2.74% to 768.5p followed by Kazakhmys, which advanced 1.5% to 1291p and BHP Billiton, which gained 2.7% to 1972p. Oil and gas producers were also in positive terrain, with Cairn Energy, Tullow Oil and BP Group up between 0.5% and 1%.
Banks were having a bit of a mixed session, with Barclays and RBS up 0.2% to 276.1p and 1.4% to 28.8p respectively. In contrast, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Standard Chartered sagged between 0.2% and 0.6%.
In corporate news, engineering and construction company Balfour Beatty announced that it has acquired Strata Construction, which specialises in affordable housing work, for £10.3 million in cash. Balfour's share price was unchanged at 254p.
Elsewhere, hotel and restaurant group Whitbread traded 0.1% higher at 1395p this morning, after unveiling that it has entered into a sale and leaseback agreement with M&G Investments. M&G investments will pay Whitbread £36.65 million in cash for five properties, which Whitbread will manage.
Domestic waste management firm Shanks was also in the spotlight after US private equity group Carlyle confirmed that it is evaluating a possible cash offer for the entire company. Carlyle also said it has held preliminary discussions with the company's board. Shanks advanced 1.2% to 132.5p.
Looking ahead to this afternoon, March Dow and S&P 500 futures are ticking marginally higher, suggesting that Wall Street is also gearing up for a positive start today.
Economic news on tap later today includes durable goods and the weekly jobless claims data. Bloomberg's median estimates show a 0.5% gain in durable goods for November while initial jobless claims are expected to fall by 10,000 to 470,000. Continuing claims, meanwhile, are expected to fall by 16,000 to 5.170 million.
Healthcare shares are likely to be in focus as well since the US Senate is poised to approve President Obama's healthcare overhaul today.
Finally, it is important to note that the London Stock Exchange will be closing early at 12:30pm (London time), while the New York Stock Exchange will close at 6pm today.
