Oil stocks boost FTSE
The FTSE 100 Index remained at levels not seen for more than four years today as gains by heavyweight oil stocks underpinned progress.
BP and Royal Dutch Shell – which together account for about a fifth of the top flight – both added around 2% to their market value as the cost of oil hovered above $67 a barrel.
This helped keep blue-chip stocks in positive territory on a day when the likes of PartyGaming and Enterprise Inns lost ground. The Footsie stood 0.8 points higher at 5787.6 by mid-morning after soaring to its highest level since June 2001 on Friday.
Telecoms group Cable & Wireless was the best top-flight performer amid speculation Iceland’s richest man is building a stake in the firm. Shares lifted almost 4% as the Telegraph named Thor Bjorgolfsson as an investor, after dealers noted heavy trading of C&W’s shares in recent weeks.
BP and Shell were both hard on its heels with gains of 13.5p and 34p to 679p and 1994p respectively.
National Grid joined them at the top of the risers board after naming a successor to chief executive Roger Urwin when he retires at the end of this year. Shares added 9.5p to 573.5p as it said Steve Holliday, who has been with the firm since 2001, would take over.
However, stocks from a range of sectors failed to emulate this progress. They included banking groups Barclays and HBOS – down 7p and 9p to 605.5p and 985.5p respectively – as a rally by the sector last week came to a halt.
Online gaming group PartyGaming led the fallers with losses of 5%, down 7p to 134p, and was followed by pubs operator Enterprise Inns, off 23p to 919.5p.
Smaller stocks in focus today included telecoms equipment maker Filtronic, whose stock slumped 29% as it said it was looking for its second chief executive in 18 months as half-year losses more than doubled. Filtronic lost 69.75p to 174.75p.
Beleaguered music management firm Sanctuary fell 0.3p to 0.75p after saying a planned £110m (€160.6m) fundraising would significantly dilute existing shares, as it revealed losses spiralled after the worst year in its history.
But retailer HMV lifted 17% – up 27.75p to 192p – after it said a third party was interested in mounting a takeover bid. Reports suggested private equity firm Permira was behind the approach and had hired banking heavyweight Merrill Lynch to advise it on a possible £800m (€1.2bn) offer.
