FTSE 100 risers: Oil majors, insurers power 'bear market' rally

Shares of oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell powered Tuesday's bear market rally on the Footsie, alongside big advances for insurers and some beaten down travel stocks.

By the end of trading, the top flight index had put on 9.05% to finish at 5,446.01.

Yet Brent crude oil futures were in fact lower on the day, dipping 0.59% to $26.87 a barrel on the ICE.

June gold futures on COMEX on the other hand were flying, rising by 5.58% to $1,660/oz., as the most recent actions by the US Federal Reserve relieved the squeeze on US dollar funding.

The yellow metal was also benefiting from expectations for a larger Fed balance sheet and hence asset price inflation and hopefully higher prices of the more common sort further down the line.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs also believed that doubts around the euro area's future might be at work.

Shares of Polymetal jumped against that backdrop to near their 52-week highs, tracking a similar advance for gold.

Among the insurers making the most headway meanwhile were Phoenix Group, RSA Insurance and Legal & General.

JD Sports was also higher after the retailer reassured investors regarding its liquidity position.

The combination of a strong balance sheet, net cash resources and the substantial working capital facilities available to the Group in its various territories are more than adequate to meet the cash deficiencies which may reasonably be anticipated during the closure periods in our various territories," the company said.

Last, but not least, cruise-line operator Carnival topped the leaderboard, mirroring gains among peers on the other side of the Pond.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 5,324.37 6.62%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Carnival (CCL) 1,056.00p 27.54%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,268.20p 18.79%
Evraz (EVR) 248.10p 18.09%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,327.80p 17.78%
Prudential (PRU) 934.00p 17.31%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 425.20p 16.88%
BP (BP.) 299.35p 16.52%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 543.90p 16.35%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 379.70p 16.15%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,310.50p 15.82%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,668.00p -3.36%
ITV (ITV) 58.76p -2.10%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,243.50p -1.74%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 6,722.00p -1.60%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,618.00p -0.58%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,918.00p -0.37%
Tesco (TSCO) 211.80p -0.19%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 110.02p -0.16%
Croda International (CRDA) 4,164.00p 0.10%
Bunzl (BNZL) 1,405.50p 0.75%