London open: Stocks edge higher as oil prices gain amid Gulf rift
London stocks nudged higher in early trade, helped along by rising oil prices.
At 0830 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% to 7,552.58, while the pound was down 0.1% versus the dollar at 1.2873.
Investors in London were still digesting the tragic events over the weekend, which saw seven people killed and dozens injured in a terrorist attack at London Bridge and Borough Market that has been claimed by Isis.
Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said: "In terms of data the main focus this Monday is on the latest services PMI. Analysts are expecting the UK’s figure to slip from 55.8 to 55.1 month-on-month; however it is worth noting that - by varying degrees - last week’s manufacturing and construction readings managed to beat forecasts.
"Of course, with the election on Thursday the market will also be keeping an eye on any political developments as campaigning resumes following Saturday’s horrific events in London. The Conservatives’ Election Seats spread has continued to fall, now sitting at 361-367 to Labour’s 200-206; just for comparison, at their pre-manifesto peak the Tories had reached 396-402."
Markit's services purchasing managers' index is at 0930 BST.
Oil prices were on the front foot after Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, citing concerns about its terrorist links. West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude were up 1% to $48.13 a barrel and $50.45, respectively.
Oil stocks were lifted as a result, with BP and Shell both gushing higher.
Vodafone was trading a little higher after it and LG UPlus announced a new Partner Market agreement for South Korea where the former will share best practices with LG Uplus across all areas of their business, including network strategy and development.
Royal Mail was also in the black as it agreed to sell two of the seven plots on the site of its former south London mail centre at Nine Elms site to US-based developer Greystar for £101m cash, while Ocado surged after it revealed on Sunday it had won a contract with a "regional European retailer".
Wolseley was boosted by an upgrade to 'overweight' at JPMorgan, but Kaz Minerals and Antofagasta were hit by downgrades at HSBC.
Central and Eastern European-focused low-cost airline Wizz Air edged up after reporting a 22% jump in passenger numbers in May, while AstraZeneca was little changed after releasing positive results from a trial of a breast cancer drug.
Heavily-weighted miners retreated as copper and iron ore prices fell, with Antofagasta, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto all weaker.
Polymetal nudged lower after announcing an agreement to extend its existing $400m credit facility with Sberbank for seven years.
BBA Aviation shares fell as it said chief executive Simon Pryce has stepped down after 10 years at the aviation support services provider.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,552.58 0.07%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,029.80 0.14%
techMARK (TASX) 3,667.81 0.04%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Wolseley (WOS) 5,110.00p 1.49%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 346.00p 0.99%
National Grid (NG.) 1,043.00p 0.87%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,100.50p 0.65%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,148.50p 0.61%
BP (BP.) 465.50p 0.59%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 369.80p 0.57%
Worldpay Group (WPG) 313.60p 0.55%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,337.00p 0.52%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,616.00p 0.50%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 788.50p -2.05%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,014.00p -1.51%
Sage Group (SGE) 721.50p -1.03%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,174.00p -0.93%
Glencore (GLEN) 284.20p -0.89%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,129.00p -0.86%
Kingfisher (KGF) 326.80p -0.82%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,184.00p -0.75%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,600.00p -0.72%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 603.50p -0.66%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 338.60p 7.15%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,341.00p 2.92%
Card Factory (CARD) 336.80p 2.37%
Cranswick (CWK) 3,075.00p 2.33%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 3,789.00p 1.72%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 456.30p 1.56%
Dignity (DTY) 2,554.00p 1.43%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 178.50p 1.42%
ZPG Plc (ZPG) 382.10p 1.41%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 182.00p 1.39%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
BBA Aviation (BBA) 314.70p -2.78%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 482.30p -2.45%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 596.50p -1.73%
Marshalls (MSLH) 404.65p -1.28%
Allied Minds (ALM) 143.76p -1.27%
P2P Global Investments (P2P) 895.50p -0.94%
Redefine International (RDI) 38.61p -0.90%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 312.70p -0.89%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,462.00p -0.88%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 171.60p -0.81%