The appearance of the much-rumoured bid approach to Legal & General, the life and general insurance group, and a reassuring US non-farm payroll report for August provided some much-needed relief to a recently hard-pressed UK stock market. Under pressure for much of the week, as worries about emerging inflationary pressures both here and in the US triggered fears of rising interest rates, London's leading stocks moved into overdrive once the US jobs report was published.

"The pressure is off the market, for the time being at least," said a dealer, adding that NatWest's move to acquire Legal & General could trigger another burst of consolidation in the financial sectors of the London.

The FTSE 250 jumped 52.5 to 6,122.4, up 68.1, and a new closing high. At its best the 250 reached an intraday peak 6,122.7. Over the week the 250 index has risen 1.1 per cent. Equally impressive was the FTSE SmallCap which maintained its recent outstanding performance, registering its 15th consecutive advance to end the session up 11.9 at a record closing and intraday high of 2,837.0.