FTSE positive as commodities gain and banking firms steady
London’s top index moved 0.17%, or 12.48 points, higher to finish at 7,484.25.
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Your support makes all the difference.The FTSE 100 posted modest gains on Tuesday as a strong performance by oil and commodity firms helped London edge its European counterparts.
Recent volatility driven by banking stocks and fears of a widening crisis across the sector appeared to have markedly calmed during a broadly cautious trading session.
The FTSE was treading water for most of the day as a result but was partly tipped higher by a rise for oil giant BP after it announced, along with Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC, to finance a joint venture to take a 50% stake in Israel’s NewMed Energy.
London’s top index moved 0.17%, or 12.48 points, higher to finish at 7,484.25.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “European markets have struggled for direction today, with upward pressure on short-term yields serving to act as a modest drag on the markets’ ability to build solidly on the gains seen yesterday.
“There still appears to be an abundance of caution when it comes to driving prices higher, in the wake of the turmoil of last week, with outperformance from the basic resources and energy sector offsetting weakness in commercial real estate, helping to keep the FTSE 100 in positive territory.”
Across the Channel, concerns about European banking woes also appeared to calm but continued recession fears weighed on any opportunity for major improvements.
The Dax rose by 0.09% and the French Cac 40 increased by 0.14% at the close.
In the US, stocks opened slightly lower after a mixed finish to Monday’s session.
Meanwhile, sterling made gains against the dollar for the second day in a row after fresh data showed shop price inflation continued to rise over the past month.
The pound was up 0.47% to 1.234 US dollars and rose by 0.09% to 1.138 euros at market close in London.
In company news, Ocado slipped back in share value after it saw average shopper basket sizes fall 7.5% over the first quarter of its financial year.
Nevertheless, the firm saw total sales increase as it was offset by an 8.3% surge in average selling prices due to surging food inflation, which has continued to accelerate, according to new BRC figures also released on Tuesday.
The online grocery business closed down 8.1p at 444p as a result.
Scottish drinks firm AG Barr received a flat reception from investors despite posting a 5.2% increase in pre-tax profits for the past year. Shares fell 33p to 509p.
Betting giant 888 struggled during the session after its William Hill arm was hit by the Gambling Commission’s record settlement after confirming it would pay out £19.2 million for “widespread and alarming” social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.
Social responsibility failures at William Hill businesses included allowing one customer to open a new account and spend £23,000 in 20 minutes. Shares dropped by 0.05p to 54.45p as a result.
Elsewhere, Brent crude oil increased by 1.2% to 79.06 US dollars (£64.07) per barrel when the London markets closed.
The biggest risers in the FTSE 100 were BP, up 11.4p at 507.8p, IAG, up 3p at 140.24p, Glencore, up 9.3p at 458.9p, Rio Tinto, up 106p at 5,338p, and Prudential, up 18p at 1,044.5p.
The biggest fallers of the session were Hargreaves Lansdown, down 20.6p at 767.8p, Ocado, down 8.1p at 444p, Rightmove, down 9.8p at 541.4p, Haleon, down 5.25p at 321p, and Beazley, down 9p at 560p.