London close: FTSE gains as energy shares rally

(Sharecast News) - London stocks closed firmly in the black on Monday, helped along by strength in the heavily-weighted energy sector. The FTSE 100 ended up 0.9% at 7,232.65 following a fairly quiet day's trade as US markets were closed for Independence Day.

BP, Shell and Harbour Energy were among the top gainers on the FTSE 100 index, while Tullow Oil was the best performer on the FTSE 250 as oil prices rose amid concerns about supply.

IG market analyst Chris Beauchamp said: "European futures were looking strong at the beginning of the day but the session has seen continental Europe edge back while oil prices keep supporting the FTSE 100.

"A fresh surge in crude prices during the day has bolstered BP and Shell, providing hope that the UK leading index still has the power to outshine other indices. But as ever it is the absence of the US that is problematic - Wall Street has driven the selloffs this year, and today's gains could easily slip away tomorrow."

On the downside, Pets at Home tumbled after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the shares to 'underperform' from 'sector perform' and slashed the price target to 280p from 330p. The bank said PETS has a strong position as a specialist player in the UK pet care market. "However, we believe valuation looks full and consensus forecasts look demanding."

Homeware retailer Dunelm was also knocked lower by a rating downgrade at RBC, which cut the stock to 'sector perform' from 'outperform'. The bank said it expects margins to moderate in the near term, given more normalised promotional activity and input cost pressure.

Builders' merchant Grafton was sharply lower after it announced that Gavin Slark would be stepping down as chief executive later in the year after 11 years in the role, while easyJet flew lower as it said Peter Bellew had resigned as chief operating officer.

AO World tumbled as it confirmed that a third party credit insurer servicing some of its suppliers "rebased" its cover with respect to the online electricals retailer in May, to reflect post-Covid sales levels.

Responding to weekend press speculation, AO said: "This was a reduction from the heightened levels that had been in place and required through the period of the pandemic. To date this rebased cover has had no effect on AO's liquidity position which remains in-line with the board's expectations for FY23."

Moonpig slid after HSBC slashed its price target on the shares to 385p from 480p.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,232.65 0.89% FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,592.95 -0.24% techMARK (TASX) 4,299.85 0.11%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Harbour Energy (HBR) 349.90p 5.20% BP (BP.) 401.45p 4.41% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,703.00p 3.90% Shell (SHEL) 2,203.00p 3.87% Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 559.60p 3.21% Fresnillo (FRES) 779.20p 2.88% BT Group (BT.A) 190.00p 2.72% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,655.50p 2.00% London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,704.00p 1.98% Glencore (GLEN) 436.05p 1.97%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 784.80p -3.59% Entain (ENT) 1,212.50p -3.19% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 114.60p -2.51% Whitbread (WTB) 2,454.00p -2.19% WPP (WPP) 805.20p -2.19% Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,434.00p -1.83% Ashtead Group (AHT) 3,472.00p -1.78% 3i Group (III) 1,083.00p -1.54% Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 597.20p -1.32% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,107.00p -1.29%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Tullow Oil (TLW) 45.42p 4.37% Centamin (DI) (CEY) 80.26p 3.91% TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,270.00p 3.76% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 155.45p 3.36% Biffa (BIFF) 376.40p 3.12% Weir Group (WEIR) 1,414.00p 2.99% Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 136.25p 2.95% Mediclinic International (MDC) 466.00p 2.82% Spectris (SXS) 2,767.00p 2.41% Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 128.80p 2.38%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Pets at Home Group (PETS) 284.20p -8.32% Grafton Group Ut (CDI) (GFTU) 726.60p -7.70% Moonpig Group (MOON) 213.00p -6.99% Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 401.20p -6.20% Micro Focus International (MCRO) 266.50p -4.85% Carnival (CCL) 626.20p -4.66% easyJet (EZJ) 360.30p -4.40% Discoverie Group (DSCV) 633.00p -4.09% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 223.00p -3.88% Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,786.50p -3.87%