London open: Stocks edge up as oil giants rally

London stocks edged higher in early trade on Thursday following a positive close on Wall Street, and helped along by a strong showing from oil giants BP and Shell.

At 0855 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,485.89, with the session likely to be quiet as US markets will be closed for Thanksgiving.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The FTSE 100 has opened on the front foot buoyed by the feel-good holiday vibe emanating from the US, as Wall Street headed into the Thanksgiving weekend.

"With worries about another hike from the Fed now largely put to bed, and the economy showing fresh signs of resilience, there is hope that a soft landing will be achieved despite interest rates scaling such heights. As turkey dinners take centre stage today, trading will be thin."

On home shores, the S&P Global/CIPS preliminary manufacturing and services PMIs for November are due at 0930 GMT.

In equity markets, BP and Shell were among the top performers on the FTSE 100 as oil prices bounced back.

Product inspection, testing and certification company Intertek gained as it said it's on track to deliver on targets for 2023 after a solid third quarter, though currency movements were limiting growth more than expected.

BAE Systems was on the rise as JPMorgan lifted its price target on the shares to 1,300p from 1,150p.

"BAE faces a decade of growth and visibility," JPM said. "It has strong free cash flow, which should mean it continues to pay an attractive dividend and buy back stock every year (which we assume in our forecast through to 2027)."

On the downside, Vodafone, British Land, Land Securities, Liontrust Asset Management, National Grid and Great Portland Estates were all weaker as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Transport operator FirstGroup fell even as it posted a jump in first-half profit and revenue and hailed a strong performance in both bus and rail.

Virgin Money was in the red as it reported a drop in full-year profits after it set aside £309m for credit card impairment charges.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,485.89 0.22%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,449.11 -0.17%
techMARK (TASX) 4,115.36 -0.16%

FTSE 100 - Risers

BP (BP.) 472.65p 1.39%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 614.40p 1.27%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,870.00p 1.07%
BT Group (BT.A) 123.70p 1.02%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 663.80p 0.97%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,431.00p 0.95%
SSE (SSE) 1,805.50p 0.87%
Shell (SHEL) 2,578.50p 0.86%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 283.40p 0.85%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 2,734.00p 0.81%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Vodafone Group (VOD) 71.54p -4.51%
National Grid (NG.) 1,006.50p -2.61%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,835.00p -2.32%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 635.40p -1.49%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 156.60p -1.39%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 702.00p -1.38%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 451.10p -1.07%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 149.00p -0.90%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,315.00p -0.87%
RS Group (RS1) 753.40p -0.82%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 89.80p 5.65%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 2,115.00p 3.93%
Ithaca Energy (ITH) 158.60p 3.52%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 224.60p 2.32%
Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust (ORIT) 93.90p 2.07%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 434.00p 1.83%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 140.00p 1.45%
International Distributions Services (IDS) 249.20p 1.18%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 283.00p 1.14%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 1,104.00p 1.10%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

British Land Company (BLND) 349.40p -3.53%
Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) 573.00p -2.88%
FirstGroup (FGP) 170.50p -2.57%
Indivior (INDV) 1,301.00p -2.55%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 957.00p -2.40%
easyJet (EZJ) 412.60p -2.23%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 171.90p -2.05%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 196.50p -1.95%
JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 472.00p -1.87%
Urban Logistics Reit (SHED) 120.20p -1.80%