Market Report: So Gatwick might not be the new Dallas after all

Re-cork the champagne – it turns out Gatwick might not be the new Dallas after all.

After trumpeting the prospect of the Horse Hill development in West Sussex potentially holding up to 100 billion barrels of oil last week, the operators working the site back pedalled. UK Oil & Gas, the biggest stakeholder in the development, said the actual level of reserves was still unclear as more tests were needed. And even then it will still be a guestimate, as finding oil in the ground and getting it out are two very different things. UK Oil & Gas slipped 0.12p to 2.15p.

Meanwhile Asia Resource Minerals, the Indonesian coal miner (formerly Bumi), rocketed 12p to 27p on AIM after receiving a £210m, or 41p a share, bid approach from a vehicle ultimately backed by Indonesian tycoon Eka Tjipta Widjaja. The bid comes counter to the refinancing plans of Nat Rothschild, the financier who helped create Bumi and is still a significant shareholder. Asia Resource Minerals has struggled with boardroom battles and falling coal prices.

The Footsie broke the 7,100 mark for the first time ever, but couldn’t quite hang on, ending the day up 21.52 points at 7,096.78. Sports Direct topped the index, up 24.5p at 670p after a strong set of results from rival JD Sports, 29.5p better at 539p.

J Sainsbury rose 9.7p to 284.7p as old rumours that the Qataris are close to a bid circulated again. A few chunky options set to expire in June added fuel to the flame, with traders hoping someone knows something.

Next jumped 175p to 7,285p after an upgrade from JPMorgan. The investment bank reckons the recent warm weather will have boosted the retailer’s sales.

Virgin Money slipped 22.1p to 399.9p after two backers sold down their stakes: overnight US billionaire Wilbur Ross and Stanhope Investments offloaded 60 million shares in the challenger bank at 400p apiece, a 22p discount to the closing price. The sale raised a cool £240m for Mr Ross and Stanhope and follows a 50 per cent surge in Virgin Money’s share price since listing last November at 283p a share.