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London open: FTSE nudges higher as miners, energy shares gain
London stocks edged higher in early trade, supported by strength in the mining and energy sectors, although a pop higher for the pound kept gains to a minimum.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% to 7,452.40, while the pound was up 0.3% versus the dollar at 1.2924.
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate was up 2% to $48.81 a barrel and Brent crude was 1.9% higher at $51.82 following reports that Saudi Arabia and Russia have agreed to do “whatever it takes” to keep a floor under prices and extend the production freeze until March 2018.
Shares in BP and Shell gushed higher.
Accendo Markets analyst Mike van Dulken said: “In focus today will be the joint pledge from the Saudi Arabian and Russian Oil ministers to commit to a nine-month extension of OPEC-led production cuts. The proposed extension, better than the six months markets had been hoping for, still needs to be confirmed at Saturday’s OPEC meet in Vienna.”
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid al-Falih and Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said in Beijing that a joint deal to cut crude supplies would be extended until the end of March 2018 from the middle of this year. The 2016 agreement was to cut output by 1.8m barrels a day in the first half of this year and Russia and Saudi said this latest agreement is expected to be on the same terms.
Dulken pointed out that metals prices were also advancing, supported by optimism about China’s “one Belt, one Road” programme, “even if overnight data begged more questions, and precious metals fuelled by worldwide cyber-attacks, while a softer US dollar did its bit too”.
The Chinese data – which included retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment – all fell short of expectations.
In corporate news, Dignity surged after the funeral provider reported a 15% jump in revenue for the first quarter as underlying profit and the number of deaths rose and it reiterated its full-year expectations.
Diploma was on the front foot as it posted a 21% jump in revenue for the six months to the end of March, while pre-tax profit rose 29%.
Lonmin was trading higher after it reaffirmed its full-year guidance as it posted a wider net loss for the first half due to a large impairment charge.
High-performance polymer company Victrex gained ground as it said half year revenue and earnings were strong, but warned of low visibility in the second half.
Fever-Tree fizzed higher after saying it expects results for the year ending 31 December to be “comfortably ahead” of the current market expectations thanks to strong sales.
On the downside, Vodafone slipped after saying it has agreed to transfer 35% of its indirect shareholding in Safaricom to Vodacom Group, its sub-Saharan African subsidiary, for 226.8m new Vodacom shares.
Thomson travel owner TUI was on the back foot as it said losses grew in the first half but expressed confidence it can grow underlying earnings 10% this year.
Electra Private Equity nudged lower after it and its investment manager Epiris announced that its portfolio company AXIO Group had agreed the sale of intellectual property and technology services provider TechInsights to Oakley Capital.
NEX Group, formerly ICAP, ticked down as it reported a rise in profit and revenue for the year to the end of March but said activity since the start of the year has been subdued.
There are no major UK data releases due on Monday, but Tuesday sees the release of key inflation figures, while the unemployment rate, claimant count and average earnings are due on Wednesday.
