The FTSE 100 is currently projected to rise 0.3% in early trade after tacking on 0.2% on Thursday.
Barclays (LON:BARC) was the top performer in the FTSE 100, rising 4.5%.
Defence contractor Cobham (LON:COB) and oil and gas producer BG Group (LON:BG) tacked on just over 3.5%.
Royal Bank of Scotland (LON:RBS) and insurer Prudential (LON:PRU) climbed 3.2% and 3.1% respectively.
Platinum miner Lonmin (LON:LMI) advanced 2.9%.
Medical devices manufacturer Smith & Nephew (LON:SN) was at the bottom of the pile with a 3.9% loss.
Bank Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) shed 3.6%.
Engineering companies Invensys (LON:ISYS) and Weir Group (LON:WEIR) lost 3.4% and 3.3% respectively.
US stocks rallied late in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat, while the S&P 500 index added 0.4%. The technology heavy NASDAQ composite rose 0.3%.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.1%, while other Asian markets were in selling mode. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.4%, South Korea’s KOSPI shed 0.15% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.7%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1%.
Commodities
Oil prices rose with January Brent Crude reaching US$91.50/barrel.
Precious metals moved higher. Gold reached US$1,390/oz, while silver and platinum advanced to US$28.93/oz and US$1,679/oz respectively.
Base metals followed. Copper and nickel rose to US$4.10/lb and US$10.75. Zinc last traded at US$1.028/lb.
Today’s macroeconomic data will include US trade balance, the University of Michigan consumer confidence index and the budget statement from the Treasury.