Friends helps FTSE rise

The FTSE 100 has moved ahead in early trading this morning, boosted by news Friends Provident has agreed a merger with Clive Cowdery's Resolution consolidation vehicle.

London's blue chip index, also buoyed by a rise in profits from International Power, was up 13.95 points (0.30%) at 43736.15 points by 10am.

The deal is Resolution's fourth takeover bid and sees Friends Provident valued at £1.86bn. It has led shares in Friends Prov to rise 2.27% to 76.7p.

International Power holds the top spot after announcing an interim profit increase. It is 5.72% higher to 262.2p so far this morning.

Consumer packing firm Rexam has climbed 3.8% to 240.3p, while asset manager Schroders (non-voting) has added 1.97% to £10.10.

Lloyds leads this morning's fallers after rumours the Treasury disagreed with the bank's reported plans for a large rights issue to avoid its asset protection scheme. Its shares have fallen 5.11% to 92.89p.

Advertising giant WPP Group is also lower after yesterday's news Monster Worldwide is to move its business elsewhere. WPP shares are down 2.44% to 463.6p.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones closed Monday 32.12 points (0.34%) lower to 9337.95 points, while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo closed 61.2 yen (0.58%) up at 10,585.56 yen on Tuesday.