FTSE rises and oil prices rally as political instability stokes supply concerns

Miners and energy giants helped lift London’s FTSE 100 on Tuesday as oil prices rallied, amid renewed supply concerns following political instability coming from South Korea.

The UK’s top stock market index climbed 46.52 points, or 0.56%, to close at 8,359.41, with Centrica, Fresnillo and Antofagasta among the biggest risers of the day.

The price of Brent crude oil rose by more than 2%, to 73.40 US dollars per barrel, amid heightened concerns over global supply of the commodity.

It came as the South Korean president made a surprise declaration of martial law as he vowed to “eradicate pro-North Korean forces” in the country.

Trading in the US also started on the back foot following the news, with the S&P 500 down 0.15%, and Dow Jones about 0.4% lower by the time European markets closed.

Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst for IG, said: “US indices gingerly retreated from their lofty heights after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in response to opposition efforts to impeach him.

“US stocks with exposure to South Korea declined on the news but regained some of their losses as the leader of his own ruling party said that the president’s actions are unconstitutional and must not be supported.

“The South Korean won nonetheless tumbled to an over two-year low.”

He added: “South Korea’s sudden political instability led to an around 2% rise in the oil price due to supply concerns as traders were already buying the black gold ahead of this week’s Opec+ meeting at which continued output cuts are expected to be announced.”

Elsewhere in Europe, Germany’s Dax index hit a new all-time high and surpassed the 20,000 mark for the first time in its history. The index closed 0.42% higher.

In France, the Cac 40 edged up 0.26%.

The pound was up about 0.15% against the US dollar, at 1.267, and more or less flat against the euro at 1.205.

In company news, shares in Marston’s jumped higher after the pub group revealed it had bounced back to profit and slashed its debt pile after selling off its remaining brewing business.

It reported a pre-tax profit of £14.4 million for the year to the end of September, swinging from a £30.6 million pre-tax loss the prior year.

Sales also lifted higher as the group benefited from stronger sales of food and drink. Shares in Marston’s closed 8% higher.

It was also a good day for On The Beach which saw its share price soar by a fifth after announcing it had resumed dividend payouts as part of a wider move to boost investor returns.

It reinstated its final dividend for the first time since Covid, following a rebound in demand for package holidays.

On The Beach said sales by total transaction value hit record highs for the third year in a row, while passenger numbers also rose over the summer. Its share price closed 20.1% higher.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Marks & Spencer, up 13.7p to 400.2p, easyJet, up 18p to 564.8p, Rolls-Royce, up 18.4p to 591.4p, Centrica, up 3.8p to 130p, and Fresnillo, up 18.5p to 666p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were BT, down 4.2p to 156.7p, British American Tobacco, down 54p to 2,946p, Schroders, down 5.6p to 309p, SSE, down 27.5p to 1,748p, and Standard Chartered, down 12p to 965.8p.