U.K. Stocks Advance, Led by Energy Producers; Barclays Climbs

By Adam Haigh

June 9 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks advanced as a rise in crude oil boosted energy producers and higher metals prices pushed mining shares higher.

BP Plc, Europe’s second-largest oil producer, added 1.3 percent after Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said the U.S. recession may end later this year, pushing crude higher. Anglo American Plc gained 1.5 percent as copper climbed. Barclays Plc increased 1.5 percent after a person with knowledge of the negotiations said BlackRock Inc. may buy the bank’s fund business for as much as $13 billion in cash and stock.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index increased 36.03, or 0.8 percent, to 4,441.25 at 8:29 a.m. in London. The gauge has rallied 26 percent from this year’s low on March 3 amid optimism that government action will help end the first global recession since World War II. The FTSE All-Share Index advanced 0.8 percent today and Ireland’s ISEQ Index rose 0.2 percent.

BP added 1.3 percent to 532 pence. Crude oil for July delivery gained as much as 1.9 percent to $69.37 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Anglo American climbed 1.5 percent to 1,797 pence as copper increased 1.5 percent on the London Metals Exchange.

Barclays added 1.5 percent to 288 pence. BlackRock would pay half the purchase price in cash and the rest in stock, leaving London-based Barclays with a 20 percent stake in the combined company, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Alistair Smith, a spokesman for Barclays in London, didn’t immediately return a phone call to his office yesterday after business hours. Bobbie Collins, a spokeswoman for BlackRock, declined to comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in London at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net.