London open: Stocks edge up as oil prices rally; B&M slumps

(Sharecast News) - London stocks edged a little higher in early trade on Tuesday, with BP and Shell racking up solid gains as oil prices rose after EU leaders agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil by the end of the year. At 0840 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,611.32.

Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the FTSE 100 had got off to a "lethargic" start.

"This comes as EU leaders have agreed on a plan to block more than two-thirds of Russian oil imports. Given Russia currently supplies 27% of the EU's imported oil and 40% of its gas, the FTSE's tepidness is reflecting anxiety over supply.

"The UK is in a better position than some European countries when it comes to reliance on Russia for energy supply, but this doesn't mean supply concerns will be completely glossed over. The move is likely to create a permanent hike in EU oil prices, and the cost of sourcing is going to rise.

"Brent Crude has soared to $123.5 a barrel following this development, with prices the highest they've been in since early March. The upwards trajectory of the oil price may well have room left to run until a solid outline of how supply is going to be sourced."

Investors were also digesting better-than-expected data out of China, where the official manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 49.6 in May from 47.4 in April, versus consensus expectations for a reading of 49.0.

Meanwhile, the official non-manufacturing PMI rose to 47.8 from 41.9 in April, coming in ahead of consensus expectations of 45.5. A reading below 50.0 indicates contraction, while a reading above signals expansion.

On the UK data front, net lending, consumer credit and mortgage approvals for April are due out at 0930 BST.

In equity markets, Unilever surged to the top of the FTSE 100 after the consumer goods giant added billionaire investor Nelson Peltz - the founder and chief executive of Trian Fund Management - to its board as a non-executive director. Trian owns a 1.5% stake in the company.

Oil giants Shell and BP were among the best performers on the top-flight index as oil prices advanced.

GlaxoSmithKline ticked higher after it agreed to buy vaccine maker Affinivax for up to $3.3bn.

On the downside, B&M European Value Retail slumped after it said chief financial officer Alex Russo would be replacing Simon Arora as chief executive and warned that margins would take a hit this year as Britain's cost-of-living crisis hit household budgets.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,611.32 0.15% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,418.99 -0.62% techMARK (TASX) 4,436.77 -0.30%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Unilever (ULVR) 3,757.00p 7.48% British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,519.00p 1.82% Airtel Africa (AAF) 154.00p 1.45% BP (BP.) 439.55p 1.40% Harbour Energy (HBR) 384.10p 1.37% Shell (SHEL) 2,402.00p 1.18% Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,784.50p 0.85% Vodafone Group (VOD) 130.30p 0.76% GSK (GSK) 1,739.60p 0.67% Glencore (GLEN) 529.40p 0.55%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 422.00p -8.00% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 130.08p -3.67% SEGRO (SGRO) 1,099.50p -2.61% Ocado Group (OCDO) 913.60p -2.31% Royal Mail (RMG) 321.80p -2.16% Barratt Developments (BDEV) 504.00p -1.95% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,565.00p -1.91% Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,158.00p -1.86% Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,211.00p -1.82% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,232.00p -1.79%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Tullow Oil (TLW) 57.00p 2.52% Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 239.50p 2.35% Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 152.20p 1.47% Centrica (CNA) 78.54p 1.42% JPMorgan Japanese Inv Trust (JFJ) 480.00p 1.37% BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 736.00p 0.96% Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 151.60p 0.93% AVI Global Trust (AGT) 197.00p 0.92% Coats Group (COA) 68.90p 0.88% Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (FGT) 805.00p 0.88%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,938.00p -5.04% Discoverie Group (DSCV) 716.00p -4.79% Trustpilot Group (TRST) 101.40p -3.24% Hammerson (HMSO) 27.58p -3.23% easyJet (EZJ) 519.20p -2.99% Vivo Energy (VVO) 138.80p -2.94% Bridgepoint Group (Reg S) (BPT) 313.40p -2.73% Polymetal International (POLY) 231.00p -2.53% TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 192.15p -2.49% SSP Group (SSPG) 272.00p -2.12%