In London on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 added 0.96 percent to 6,677.7 and the FTSE 250 gained 1.51 percent to 11,538.
The big gainer on the 100 was brewer Scottish & Newcastle (LSE: SCTN), which jumped 18.77 percent to 756p after Carlsberg (OMX: CARL A, CARL B) and Heineken (Euronext: HEIA) said they are in talks concerning forming a consortium to make a bid for the UK brewer.
Elsewhere in the sector SAB Miller (LSE: SAB) added 2.3 percent to £14.62.
Among retailers, supermarkets also saw gains.
Tesco (LSE: TSCO) was 1.9 percent higher to 475p, while Wm Morrison (LSE: MRW) gained 4.09 percent to 298.75p.
Elsewhere in the retail sector, sporting goods retailer Sports Direct (LSE: SPD) was up 10.99 percent to 156.5p for the best day on the 250.
Other gainers included food processor Tate & Lyle (LSE: TATE), which was 7.63 percent higher to 455p, and Imperial Tobacco Group (LSE: IMT) with a gain of 4.31 percent to £23.97.
In the banking sector, Northern Rock was back in the losing column dropping 7.16 percent to 207.5p for the worst day on the 100.
Miner Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) fell 1.47 percent to £43.54 after it said iron production dropped 2 percent in the quarter ending September 30 from the previous quarter.
In the oil sector, BP (LSE: BP; NSYE: BP; TYO: 5051) was 1.2 percent lower to 619.5p.