Oil stocks help FTSE cope with poor results
Soaring oil stocks helped the FTSE 100 Index shrug off a downbeat reaction to the latest batch of corporate results today.
Heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell were the toast of the market after benefiting from an upbeat broker note and a fresh rise in the cost of crude oil - adding around 2% to the value of both.
The pair, which account for a fifth of the top flight, helped the Footsie to advance 18.1 points to 5365.5 by mid-morning, overcoming losses by Next, Kingfisher and Centrica.
Shell was the highest blue-chip riser, up 42p to 1862p, followed by BP with gains of 11.5p to 643.5p, after broker UBS upgraded BP and lifted its target on Shell.
Mining giant Rio Tinto was the next biggest riser after benefiting from an upgrade by Cazenove and confirmation that it will participate in a major gold project in the US.
Shares in Rio Tinto rose 31p to 2038p, while rival BHP Billiton cheered 9.5p to 836.5p and Xstrata ticked 12p higher to 1357p.
However, many retailers were in the doldrums as official figures showed high street sales failed to bounce back last month, compounding disappointing results.
B&Q owner Kingfisher fell more than 4% or 11p to 234p after revealing that its UK profits had fallen by a third.
Clothing chain Next trailed it at the top of the fallers board after reporting a 6% fall in like-for-like sales for the past six weeks – with its slipping 36p to 1454p.
Other retailers under pressure today included GUS, down 8p at 895p, and there was a 3.5p decline to 151p at DSG International – the new corporate name for Dixons.
Energy group Centrica was also in the red, losing 4.75p to 254.5p as news of a 19% rise in half-year profits was accompanied by a cautious outlook.
