( Reuters ) - Britain's top share index ended 1.1 percent higher on Tuesday as Italian group Eni's bid for Burren Energy lifted oil shares and Northern Rock led gainers on the back of new funding agreements.
The FTSE 100 .FTSE closed up 74.5 points, or 1.14 percent, at 6,615.4 -- the largest one-day percentage gain since Sept. 19, the day after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points to ward off a slowdown in the economy.
European shares also finished higher on Tuesday.
"There had been concerns overnight coming out of the U.S. that the weak housing sector might feed through to a lower demand for energy. But you have the news today of Eni and Burren Energy, which gives a fillip to the sector," said Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Oil shares were the standout gainers, adding nearly 24 points to the index rise, after Eni said it had made a 1.48 billion pound ($3 billion) takeover proposal to Britain's Burren Energy, which the London-based firm rejected.
Burren leapt 28 percent. Elsewhere, Tullow Oil climbed 2.6 percent, Royal Dutch Shell put on 2.2 percent, Cairn Energy gained 2 percent and gas producer BG Group rose 3 percent.
BP, which had been hit by recent speculation that its third-quarter results would be disappointing, climbed almost 2 percent.