FTSE ends 1.8 pct higher; oils, financials lead
* Energy stocks gain, shrug off weaker crude price
* Insurers up on expectations of sector consolidation
* Banks rise, boosted by gains from U.S. financials
By Tricia Wright
LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - London's top share index closed 1.8 percent higher on Monday, boosted by stronger energy and mining stocks, while financial shares also provided support to the market which had fallen in five of last eight sessions.
The FTSE 100 .FTSE ended 74.96 points higher at 4,202.13, after falling 0.8 percent on Friday to its lowest close since April 28. It still risen 21 percent since touching a six-year low in March, but is down 5.2 percent for the year.
Trading was lacklustre, with volumes reaching just 67 percent of the average of the last 90 trading days.
"We still think (the FTSE 100) is in a fairly tight trading range between about 4,000 and 4,400 and there's been nothing really to suggest that there's going to be a sustainable break through that upper resistance level," said Tim Whitehead at brokerage Redmayne-Bentley.
Banks advanced, rebounding from falls earlier in the session, aided by gains in U.S. financials after influential bank analyst Meredith Whitney, who recently founded her own advisory firm, upgraded Goldman Sachs (GS.N) to "buy" from "neutral" and gave a reassuring assessment of the sector's performance. [ID:nBNG121776]
Bank of England Deputy Governor Charles Bean said central bank policymakers were monitoring the situation to see whether more needed to be done to boost the economy, although things were heading in the right direction. [ID:nLD91502]
Barclays (BARC.L), HSBC (HSBA.L), Standard Chartered (STAN.L), Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) added between 1.1 and 2.9 percent.
Friends Provident FP.L was the top gainer, adding 12.6 percent after the life insurer rejected a takeover proposal from Resolution (RSL.L), which fell 2.8 percent.
The sharp rise in Friends' shares pointed to investor expectations of a sweetened offer and some analysts hailed what could be the first step in a long-awaited consolidation of the sector. [ID:nLD542208]
Legal & General (LGEN.L), Aviva (AV.L) and Old Mutual (OML.L) took the second, third and fourth spots on the blue-chip leaderboard, all rising more than 6 percent.
Energy stocks added the most points to the FTSE100, holding onto gains despite crude prices CLc1 reversing an early rise and falling below $59 a barrel to their lowest in almost two months on concerns over the state of the global economy.
Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) gained 2 percent, BP (BP.L) added 2.2 percent and BG Group (BG.L) firmed 1.5 percent.
Miners were also on the rise as metals prices firmed.
BHP Billiton (BLT.L), Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and ENRC (ENRC.L) rose between 1.1 and 5.3 percent.
Xstrata (XTA.L), however, dropped 2.4 percent. It said on Sunday it remained committed to a nil-premium merger with Anglo American (AAL.L), up 2.7 percent, after the Observer newspaper said Xstrata would offer a 5 billion pounds sweetener to seal the deal. [ID:nLC011937]
A downgrade from RBS weighed on Associated British Foods (ABF.L), off 0.7 percent, with the bank cutting its rating on the stock to "sell" from "hold". (Editing by David Holmes)
