The FTSE rose by 0.3%, or 14 points, to 5686.32 this morning, buoyed by fighting talk from British Sky Broadcasting.
The broadcaster rose 3% to 599.5p on reports it will appeal an Ofcom demand to offer its sports channels to competitors at 24% below wholesale prices.
Unilever, which was upgraded from 'neutral' to 'buy' by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, also rose, by 1.5% to £19.41.
Compass Group was up 1.4% at 534p after announcing second quarter sales growth of 1.5% on the back of new contracts.
Among the fallers, Segro fell furthest, by 2.5% to 320.6p after going ex-dividend.
Platinum producer Lonmin also fell, by 1.1% to £20.27, despite saying a furnace leak in South Africa would not hit earnings.
Gartmore, a FTSE 250 stock, fell a further 8.3% to reach 106p. This came on top of its 31% fall yesterday on news it had suspended star manager Guillaume Rambourg.
In the US, the Dow Jones index closed up 11 points, or 0.1%, at 10,907.42.
Technology and telecoms shares rose, led by Apple, up 1.5% to $236.85.
Markets today could focus on mortgage-related stocks as the Federal Reserve stops buying residential mortgage-backed securities.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index was flat at 11,089.94, despite profit taking on concerns of overvalutions. BHP Billiton fell 1.9%, while Sumitomo Mitusi Financial Group fell 1.8%.
