XL collapse sees rivals prosper on FTSE

The collapse of a rival operator buoyed holiday giants TUI Travel and Thomas Cook today as the FTSE 100 Index surged nearly 2% in the final session of the week.

The collapse of a rival operator buoyed holiday giants TUI Travel and Thomas Cook today as Britain's FTSE 100 Index surged nearly 2% in the final session of the week.

Shares in the companies rose by more than 6% after XL, the UK's third largest holiday firm, went into administration and removed a major competitor from the marketplace.

Soaring miners also provided much of the day's impetus thanks to firmer metals prices, helping the FTSE 100 Index close up 98.3 points, or 1.8%, to 5416.7.

The buoyant mood was not dampened by opening losses on Wall Street amid weak retails sales figures and as the fate of investment bank Lehman Brothers hung over the US market.

Thomson owner TUI Travel was among the Footsie's best performers, rising 16.25p to 238p. It was closely followed by Thomas Cook, which added 15.75p to 250.75p. Both firms were on stand-by to help out the tens of thousands of passengers stranded by XL's collapse.

Retailers bounced back from some early session losses that followed yesterday's gloomy numbers from high street bellwether John Lewis and Homebase owner Home Retail Group.

Supermarket chain Tesco ended up flat at 374.3p, while Sainsbury's reversed a poor start to stand 19.75p higher at 365p.

B&Q owner Kingfisher, which is due to post a trading update next week, was also up 0.8p at 130.8p, while second-tier firm Debenhams faded 1p to 45p.

FTSE small cap fashion retailer French Connection contributed its own sector woes after posting wider pre-tax losses of £3.5m (€4.4m) for the half year to July 31. With the company ruling out an improvement until next year at the earliest, French Connection shares were down 1%, or 1p to 64.5p.

Back in the top flight, banks were in better shape, with Barclays ahead 12p at 350.5p after reports linking it with a possible Lehman Brothers bid. Royal Bank of Scotland also rose 5.5p at 239.75p. But there was no such joy for HBOS, which slipped 4.75p to 282p.

US-facing building supplies firm Wolseley topped the fallers board, down 20.75p to 445.25p. Also on the back foot were pharmaceuticals pair GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, which fell 18p to 1236p and 10p to 2556p.

On the mining front, Eurasian Natural Resources set the pace, rising more than 9%, or 60p to 722p. Rio Tinto also advanced 332p to 4490p, with BHP Billiton up 104p to 1509p. The sector's buoyant end to the week clawed back some hefty losses seen in previous sessions.

In the FTSE 250 Index, housebuilders showed signs of lift after another difficult week. Persimmon was 14.75p higher at 400.25p and Taylor Wimpey added 2p to 54p.

The Footsie's four biggest risers were Eurasian Natural Resources, up 60p to 722p, Anglo American up 194p to 2502p, Rio Tinto up 332p to 4490p and BHP Billiton, which closed up 104p to 1509p.

The four biggest fallers were Wolseley, down 20.75p at 445.25p, Smith & Nephew, down 15p to 628.5p, Man Group down 12p to 513.5p, and Imperial Tobacco, which ended the day down 30p to 1737p.