LONDON: Britain's top share index rallied modestly in early deals on Monday, led higher by gains from banks and energy stocks, overcoming worries over the impact of high oil prices on the economic recovery.
By 0934 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was up 18.38 points, or 0.3 percent, at 6,008.77, having shed 0.2 percent on Friday.
"After opening falls, the FTSE has regained its poise, with investors trying to look for positives at the start of the week and shrugging aside the ongoing turmoil in Libya," said Mic Mills, head of electronic trading at ETX Capital.
Integrated oils pushed higher, led by BG Group, up 0.7 percent, with the sector helped by a batch of brokers raising estimates across the sector based on higher oil prices.
Brent crude rose to around $117 a barrel on Monday as Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi attacked rebel-held towns, stoking fears of an imminent civil war.
Banks were higher as a sector, boosted by strong gains from global heavyweight HSBC, up 1.6 percent.
HSBC may move its headquarters from London to Hong Kong because of what it sees as high levels of tax and red tape in the UK, the Sunday Telegraph said.
Part-nationalised lenders Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, however, shed 0.3 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, unsettled by a report in The Guardian which said the Liberal Democrats backbench Treasury Committee has backed a radical plan to distribute the government-owned shares in both banks to the public.
Imbalances in the banking system are growing again and could lead to a repeat of the financial crisis, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said in an interview in Saturday's Daily Telegraph.
Banks, however, countered that they had made their businesses safer.
Precious metal miners benefited as gold rose to near a record high and silver jumped to its highest in more than three decades on safe-haven buying on the unrest in Libya, with Mexican silver miner Fresnillo up 1.8 percent.
INTERTEK IN DEMAND
Intertek was the top blue-chip gainer, up 4.8 percent, as the testing firm posted an 11 percent rise in full-year profit and said it would acquire safety services provider, Moody. "It is an important strategic move for Intertek since it considerably enhances its global position in technical safety services and systems certification," said Seymour Pierce.
Luxury goods firm Burberry was also in demand, up 3.9 percent, after French peer LVMH launched a 3.7 billion euro takeover bid for Italy's Bulgari, paying a premium of almost 60 percent.
Inmarsat was by far the biggest FTSE 100 faller, sliding 11.8 percent to touch their lowest since late 2009, as the satellite operator's results were below market expectations and it signalled a difficult 2011.
British manufacturing activity slowed at the start of 2011 after record performances in the previous three quarters, but firms are optimistic about the future despite having to raise their prices, a survey said.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.