Oil boosts FTSE

BP has gained 6.5p, or 1%, to 662p as crude oil climbed. Brent crude oil for April delivery rose as much as 2.2% on London's ICE Futures Exchange. BOC has advanced 332p, or 2.2%, to 1521p. The industrial-gases maker has accepted an £8bn takeover bid from Linde AG, according to the Financial Mail. Meanwhile, Northern Rock has fallen 24p, or 2.1%, to 1,126p after the bank was downgraded to "in-line" from "outperform" at Goldman Sachs. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 275.52 points, or 1.8%, to 15,437.93. Mitsubishi UFJ lost 70,000 yen, or 4.3%, to 1.57m. The bank said it wi...