London's FTSE 100 extended its rally from last week with miners doing most of the heavy-lifting buoyed by higher metal prices as investors awaited the U.S. central bank's policy meeting.
Among individual shares, buyout deals boosted the London-listed shares of payment processor Worldpay, and on a smaller scale, AIM company Footasylum.
The FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent by 0913 GMT, outperforming its European counterparts and rising for the sixth straight session after hopes that a potentially disruptive no-deal Brexit would be averted lent support last week.
The more-domestically focused midcap index, which was carried to a five-month high in the last session, added 0.2 percent as a weaker pound kept a lid on gains.
Miners advanced 2.3 percent and were on course for their best day since late January as iron ore futures jumped on supply concerns after Vale's output cuts and as copper prices were also higher.
Anglo American, Rio Tinto and BHP all gained more than 2 percent to lead the blue-chip risers.
Deutsche Bank and German peer Commerzbank confirming that they were in talks about a merger boosted financial stocks to levels not seen since last October.
In the broader financial sector, London-listed shares in payment processor Worldpay also surged 10.7 percent after the UK-based group agreed to be bought over by U.S. fintech group Fidelity National Information Services for about $35 billion.
Bank stocks are also on a six-day winning streak with a no-deal Brexit seemingly off the table.
British Prime Minister Theresa May's government was scrambling to get parliament to back her Brexit deal which has already been rejected twice by lawmakers.
After parliament backed a move to delay Brexit, May has just a few days to push her divorce deal through if she wants to go to a summit with the bloc's leaders on Thursday with something to offer them in return for more time.
Elsewhere, Asian shares were also higher on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will take a dovish stance at its policy meeting this week.
"Market expectations have rotated to see a (interest rate) cut more likely this year than another hike, but this may be too complacent. Whilst economic data has clearly softened of late, the key figures remain robust and the Fed may be minded to hike again," Neil Wilson, Markets.com analyst, said.
Footasylum shot up 74.2 percent to 81 pence, inching near the 82.5 pence a share offered by larger JD Sports for the sportswear retailer.
Oilfield services provider Hunting jumped 7 percent on the FTSE 250 index after UBS hiked its rating on stock.