"The Bank of England interest rate decision has not provided any surprises, which of course is always a good thing - the markets don't like surprises," said Angus Campbell, head of sales at Capital Spreads.
"So it's business as normal... and the markets are looking pretty strong."
The pound, meanwhile, hit its highest level against the dollar since January at $1.62.
"There's been impetus from quantitative easing, third-quarter earnings have been much better than expected, and there are no storm clouds on the horizon until the austerity package starts to bite," said David Buik, senior partner at BGC Partners.
The FTSE has been undergoing a fairly steady recovery since hitting a six-year low back in early 2009.
Strong performances by banks and resource stocks helped pull the index up, while hedge fund manager's shares were up by over 13% at midday.
