The Footsie 100 Index is up 49.4 at 4065 in early trading.
Vodafone buoyed traders' spirits with strong half-year results.
Dealers had been expecting a further slide in the index after the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 2% and the Nasdaq eased 3% last night.
Other telecoms stocks also benefited with mmO2 up 1.75p at 52.5p and BT Group 2.25p stronger at 197.25p.