Shell and BP fall on FTSE
An oil price above $70 a barrel sent shares in energy giants Shell and BP up by more than 1% today.
With the sector accounting for 20% of the FTSE 100 Index, the top flight achieved strong gains for a second session in a row to stand 32.5 points higher at 5288.3 by mid-morning.
The latest surge in the oil price came as traders questioned whether production in the Gulf of Mexico could return to normal levels quickly after the destructive path blazed by Hurricane Katrina.
Supply fears have pushed oil prices to record highs above $70 a barrel over the past 48 hours, boosting BP and Royal Dutch Shell by 11p and 36p to 633p and 1878p respectively today.
Companies dealing in commodities were doing well across the board, with miner Anglo American prominent among the risers – up 17p at 1394p – and Antofagasta 14p stronger at 1464p.
Directories group Yell proved to be the session’s strongest riser – up 3% or 12.5p to 444.5p – as hopes were raised among analysts that it could escape being harshly dealt with by regulators in a probe into its market. The optimism came after the CC published the areas it intends to investigate as part of a lengthy inquiry into the sector.
But supermarket chain Morrisons was heading the other way after it agreed to sell 30 petrol filling stations to Tesco. Morrisons shares dipped 1.5p to 181p, but Tesco rose 1.5p to 326.5p.
Elsewhere, discount retailer Matalan recovered from a lacklustre start to gain 1.5p to 200p, as investors warmed to improved margins and signs of a recovering trend for like-for-like sales.
Film studio Pinewood Shepperton held firm at 128.5p even though it told investors that uncertainty over tax breaks for the movie industry would continue to hurt trading into 2006.
