London close: Stocks end higher as traders eye OPEC meeting in Algeria

London stocks rose on Wednesday as investors kept an eye on the unofficial OPEC meeting in Algeria and assessed economic data.

Oil prices wavered as a deal on a production curb at the OPEC meeting in Algeria on Wednesday seemed unlikely after Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said he sees no chance of such an agreement.

Data from the Energy Information Administration showed US crude inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels in the week to 23 September to 502.7 million barrels. The drawdown in crude stocks was offset by a 2 million barrel build in gasoline stockpiles.

The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday revealed a surprise fall of 752,000 barrels to 506.4m last week.

At 1630 BST, Brent crude fell 0.02% to $45.96 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate dropped 0.22% to $44.57 per barrel.

Meanwhile, Bank of England deputy governor Minouche Shafik said in a speech at Bloomberg’s Most Influential Summit in London that “there is no doubt in my mind that the UK is experiencing a sizeable economic shock in the wake of the referendum”.

Shafik said once Article 50 is triggered and the UK formally leaves the European Union, the prospect of trade barriers will hurt economic growth.

Elsewhere, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi urged governments to implement structural reforms at the first ECB Annual Research Conference in Frankfurt.

“… we know that if interest rates are to rise safely away from the lower bound, we need structural reforms to raise potential output in the euro area and boost long-run interest rates,” he said in a prepared speech.

In the US, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen spoke before the House Financial Services Committee about financial regulation on Wednesday. In a prepared speech, she focused on banks, saying lenders were well capitalised but remain challenged by weak interest income.

However, in response to one congressman's questions she indicated that should things continue on their current course then policy accommodation will need to be removed, albeit "probably not that much".

The US also saw the release of durable goods orders data from the Commerce Department, which showed an unchanged reading in August following a 3.6% increase in July. Economists had been expecting a 1.5% decline last month.

In corporate news, Sky shares gained as Exane BNP Paribas said it was its preferred UK TV play.

Smiths Group shares jumped as it reported a better-than-expected drop in full year pre-tax profit.

Supermarket retailer Sainsbury's was under the cosh after it reported a drop in like-for-like sales in the second quarter, blaming industry-wide falling food prices.

UK Mail Group surged after Deutsche Post agreed to buy the integrated mail and parcel operator for 440p per share, valuing the company at £242.7m.

Shares in post office rival Royal Mail declined as the deal threatens its dominance over the market.

Tritax Big Box slid after the property investment trust announced plans to raise about £150m in a discounted share placing, subscription and open offer in order to make further acquisitions.

ICAP dipped after Citigroup downgraded the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’ and cut the price target to 490p from 530p.

Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate was a high riser after launching a share buyback programme to manage its balance sheet and take advantage of future investment opportunities.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,842.55 0.51%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,780.00 0.86%
techMARK (TASX) 3,498.77 0.69%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Sky (SKY) 882.00p 4.07%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,440.00p 3.82%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,525.50p 2.66%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 365.80p 2.58%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,537.00p 2.47%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,031.00p 2.18%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 153.70p 2.13%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 493.60p 1.94%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,097.00p 1.81%
WPP (WPP) 1,819.00p 1.79%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 241.10p -3.87%
Royal Mail (RMG) 486.20p -3.34%
Worldpay Group (WI) (WPG) 292.40p -1.42%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,930.00p -1.26%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,387.00p -1.14%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 571.60p -0.95%
Shire Plc (SHP) 5,108.00p -0.68%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,586.00p -0.50%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,121.00p -0.45%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 7,181.00p -0.40%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Evraz (EVR) 164.00p 4.39%
Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 488.90p 4.24%
Diploma (DPLM) 875.50p 4.23%
AA (AA.) 297.00p 4.21%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 187.00p 4.00%
Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate (KWE) 980.00p 3.81%
Phoenix Group Holdings (DI) (PHNX) 867.50p 3.46%
Inchcape (INCH) 658.50p 3.38%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 432.10p 3.27%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 352.60p 3.19%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

International Personal Finance (IPF) 256.00p -3.69%
ICAP (IAP) 460.10p -3.68%
Tritax Big Box Reit (BBOX) 138.90p -3.27%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 504.50p -2.61%
Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 341.00p -2.40%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 484.60p -2.16%
Ted Baker (TED) 2,456.00p -1.41%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 207.20p -1.33%
Indivior (INDV) 305.40p -1.20%
Card Factory (CARD) 307.20p -1.06%