FTSE rises as oil majors pare back early falls

The FTSE 100 gained 0.4% on Tuesday

London’s stocks finished higher on Tuesday as sentiment improved after early trading was weighed down by weak economic data in Europe (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Archive)

London’s stocks finished higher as sentiment improved after early trading was weighed down by weak economic data in Europe and interest rate concerns.

A drag from oil majors Shell and BP helped keep London’s top index in the red for most of the session but the FTSE was higher at the close after both firms pared back their losses.

The FTSE 100 moved 0.4%, or 28.11 points higher to finish at 7,628.1.

Elsewhere in Europe, Germany’s Dax index rose by 0.2% and the Cac 40 closed up 0.1%.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “It’s been a lacklustre trading session for European markets with higher rates and disappointing economic data weighing on sentiment throughout the day, although we are edging higher into the close.

“A surprise 25bps (basis points) rate hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia, the second month in succession they’ve done this, along with another poor German factory orders number for April has tempered risk appetite and raised concerns about the economic outlook, while oil prices have given up all their Saudi production cut gains from Monday.”

The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil dropped by 0.3% to 76.46 US dollars at the time markets were closing in London.

Across the Atlantic, Wall Street stocks opened higher but the Nasdaq had slipped early doors as Coinbase became the latest cryptocurrency firm to be sued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Shares in Coinbase had dropped around 12.5% shortly after European markets closed.

The S&P 500 had risen 0.3% shortly after European markets closed, while the Dow Jones was trading flat.

Meanwhile, sterling dipped against the dollar, which had a strong session ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting and following the interest rate hike by Australia’s central bank.

The pound was down 0.1% to 1.242 US dollars and had gained 0.1% to 1.162 euros at market close in London.

In company news, British American Tobacco finished the session higher after bosses hailed gaining 900,000 customers using new products such as vapes in its first financial quarter.

The company did, however, caution that it saw a “disappointing” performance in the US for cigarette brands such as Camel, and an “underwhelming” start to the year for its Glo e-cigarette brand.

Nevertheless, shares in BAT were up 43p at 2,613.5p at the close.

Simply Be and Jacamo parent firm N Brown saw shares slide after it warned of a “very challenging” few months ahead.

The fashion group also revealed that its pre-tax profit plunged by more than 80% last year amid pressure from inflation on its costs and consumer spending habits.

Shares in the company fell by 2.7p to 24.8p.

Elsewhere, Paragon Banking Group made gains after the lender reported record interim profits and shook off uncertainty in the housing market.

The firm, which specialises in lending to landlords, saw shares increase by 49p to 552.5p after it said new mortgage lending grew 19.1% amid continued tenant demand.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Ocado, up 15p to 358.4p, Abrdn, up 8.5p to 218.5p, Melrose Industries, up 13.3p to 503.2p, Legal & General, up 5.9p to 240.3p, and 3i, up 44.5p to 2,000p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Flutter Entertainment, down 250.0p to 15,540p, Vodafone, down 1.0p to 76.92p, Centrica, down 1.3p to 119.25p, Haleon, down 2.7p to 327.55p, and Convatec, down 1.6p to 206.6p.