FTSE gains again as natural resources help it avoid European slump

Shares in the FTSE 100 gained on Monday despite setbacks in Europe, thanks to the performance of its natural resources sector.

The index ended the day up 57.05 points at 7442.39, a rise of 0.8%, making it the sixth rise in seven sessions.

Oil prices pushed upwards by around 6% to 114.45 for a barrel of Brent crude. This helped push up shares in the UK’s two biggest oil giants, BP and Shell, by more than 3%.

The companies were joined by fellow national resource giants Rio Tinto, Antofagasta, Anglo American, Polymetal and Glencore, all among the main risers on the FTSE.

They were the main reason the FTSE avoided the drops seen in Europe, as the Dax in Frankfurt and Paris’s Cac 40 both closed down 0.6%.

“It’s been a subdued start to the week for markets in Europe, with the rise in oil prices helping to boost the FTSE 100 by way of decent gains for BP and Shell, pushing the index to its highest levels since March 2,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

“Sentiment around events in Ukraine continues to keep markets on edge after the Ukrainian government rejected an ultimatum by Russia to surrender the port city of Mariupol or face the consequences.

“Ted Baker shares have continued their recent run higher, with another solid day of gains on speculation that a bid could well be forthcoming from US private equity firm Sycamore, who were reported to be considering making a cash offer for the business late last week.”

On Wall Street the S&P 500 had gained 0.2% and the Dow Jones was down 0.4% shortly before European traders went home for the day.

The pound gained 0.02% against the euro, buying 1.1953 by the end of the day. It could also buy 1.3197 US dollars, a fall of 0.02%.

In company news PZ Cussons, the maker of many soaps, bought Childs Farm, a skincare brand aimed at babies and children.

Shares in the business rose 1.1%.

On a good day for miners, Antofagasta was the best performer after it revealed that it would exit a project in Pakistan that was the subject of a row with the Government.

A World Bank court had fined the country several billion pounds over the project, which has been paused since 2011, but the fine was waived as part of the new agreement.

Shares in Antofagasta rose by 8.1% on Monday.

Barclays shares dropped 1% on a day when the business was criticised by the competition watchdog for a list of failures.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Antofagasta, up 131.5p to 1,758.5p, Airtel Africa, up 9p to 152p, Anglo American, up 225.5p to 3,910p, Shell, up 78.7p to 2,020.5p, and BP, up 14.6p to 336.6p.

The biggest fallers were Ocado, down 92p to 1,097p, Flutter Entertainment, down 344p to 9,248p, Intermediate Capital Group, down 62p to 1,702p, Entain, down 57p to 1,666p, and Spirax-Sarco, down 375p to 12,695p.