Financials lead gain for FTSE

UK bluechip stocks advanced today, with financials among the day''s largest gainers.

The FTSE 100 rose by 105.94 points to close up at 4,976.28 and the broader FTSE All-Share also edged up by 43.57 to 2,516.81.

Financials had been buoyed by news that Wells Fargo has reached an agreement to acquire beleaguered lender Wachovia, with HBOS and Barclays principal beneficiaries.

Wells Fargo is to pay around $15.1 billion for the firm in a deal which does not require federal assistance, the Bloomberg news agency reports.

Also rising was Regal Petroleum which surged on a Daily Telegraph report that is a takeover target for Royal Dutch Shell.

The day''s fallers were airport baggage handler John Menzies and camping gear retailer Blacks, which both fell after issuing weaker profit forecasts.

Since the start of the year the FTSE 100 has lost around a quarter of its value, as equity markets were battered by the credit crunch.