LONDON: Britain's top share index rose in choppy trade on Tuesday, with oil shares largely holding on to gains after signs that oil producers were cooperating over supply, even though they did not deliver a production cut.
The energy sector contributed 28 points to the FTSE 100 , which was up by 33 points, or 0.6 percent at 5,857.75.
However, oil shares as well as the index as a whole cut gains along with the price of Brent crude after a meeting of oil ministers from Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela produced only the promise of a freeze, not a cut, in supply.
"All they've agreed to is not increasing output, and that doesn't include Iran," Alastair McCaig, market analyst at IG, said.
"But, if nothing else, they've met, so they are a step closer to changing their strategy. But it's only a small step."
BP was up 2.8 percent having been as much as 4.6 percent higher, while Royal Dutch Shell rose 2.5 percent.
Goldman reinstated coverage of Shell, following its merger with BG, with a "buy" rating, and estimated that Brent would recover to $62 a barrel by 2017.
Other analysts also saw opportunities in the sector.
"For 2016 the goal is survival while ensuring portfolios are positioned to benefit from an eventual oil price recovery," strategists at Barclays said in a note.
"We expect investors to continue preferring companies that combine balance sheet strength with low cost operations and some visibility on free cash flow and debt reduction."
Miners also gave away stronger early gains, with BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto up 0.5-1.5 percent after a stabilisation in Chinese markets boosted copper prices.
The rally in the sector was undermined by volatility in Anglo American after results. It was down 7 percent, having gained as much as 7.7 percent in early deals, after delivering results that beat consensus estimates, adding that it would sell its iron ore unit.
The stock has rallied over 80 percent since late January, and many analysts said the underlying performance was not impressive, even if it was ahead of expectations.
Also down in the mining sector were precious metal miners, with Randgold down 3 percent as improved sentiment knocked appetite for safe-haven gold.
The FTSE 100 was up for its third straight session. It has not strung together three straight days of gains so far this year, with the first weeks of 2016 characterised by volatility over global growth, commodity prices and banking stocks.
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