LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. shares moved higher Wednesday to end a terrible year for the British market, with Aberdeen Asset Management surging after it agreed a deal to buy a fund management business from Credit Suisse.
The main FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX: news , chart , profile ) rose 0.8%, or 37.01 points, at 4,429.69 in a shortened trading session.
The index has fallen 31.4% since the start of the year, making 2008 the worst year in the market's history. Other European markets were also higher Wednesday. Also see Europe Markets.
Heavyweight oil and mining stocks were the main driver behind Wednesday's gains, with BP and Royal Dutch Shell both rising 1.2%, while BHP Billiton added 2.2%.
Aberdeen Asset Management was one of the biggest gainers, adding 7.4% after agreeing to buy a fund management business from Credit Suisse for 250 million pounds ($360 million) in stock. The deal will give Credit Suisse a roughly 25% stake in the U.K. financial group.
In a note to investors, analysts at Daniel Stewart & Company, said they view the deal as "transformational" for Aberdeen, "which is consistent with its strategy and importantly, it also brings scale to the business in a tough period for the asset management industry."
Among key attractions of the deal, the analysts said it will provide Aberdeen with increased scale in its core Europe, Asia and Australasia markets; increased access to the distribution of Credit Suisse and its private bank; large-scale cost efficiencies; and earnings enhancement.
In other deal news, Imperial Energy (UK:IEC: news , chart , profile ) rose 3.5% after shareholders overwhelmingly backed a $2 billion takeover by India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp.
ONGC said in a statement that shareholders representing 96.8% of Imperial's stock had backed the deal.
On the main index, telecoms giant Vodafone Group rose 2.3%. Reuters reported that Credit Suisse had issued a "trading buy" recommendation on the stock, saying the weak pound meant earnings targets could be beaten.
Supermarket operators were also higher after Wal-Mart Stores division Asda said late Tuesday that sales over the Christmas period had beaten its expectations.
Shares in Tesco (UK:TSCO: news , chart , profile ) , the U.K.'s largest supermarket chain, rose 1.7% and Morrison Supermarkets (UK:MRW: news , chart , profile ) climbed 0.6%.
