London midday: FTSE stays up amid raft of earnings, oil keeps rising

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still up by midday on Wednesday, albeit off highs, supported by healthy gains in the energy sector and well-received results from the likes of Weir and Reckitt, as oil prices continued to rise amid renewed Middle East tensions.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 10,899.30, while Brent crude was up 5.2% at $88.45 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 4.9% higher at $83.15 after Iran launched an attack on US forces, while the US and Saudi Arabia launched joint strikes against Tehran-backed militias in Iraq.

The US Central Command said the US had carried out the strikes "against Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure".

"US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours," it said. "The unwarranted attacks against US forces were not successful."

Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "Tensions have flared again in the Iran conflict, just as hopes had been mounting that fresh negotiations would lead to a resolution. But instead of steps forward there's been a series of setbacks raising fresh concerns about the flow of energy supplies from the Middle East. Brent crude, a gauge of worry, has crept up again as traders digest the latest twists in the fractious saga. However, the FTSE 100 has largely shrugged off events, with energy giants gaining ground on higher oil prices offering support.

"The conflict has opened up a hornets' nest of hostilities, and each retaliatory sting threatens to draw yet more regional players into an increasingly difficult conflict to control. There still remains some optimism that an agreement will be eventually brokered, but it looks set to be a long drawn-out process."

On home shores, data from the Bank of England showed that mortgage approvals edged higher in June.

The latest monthly Money and Credit report showed that net mortgage approvals for house purchases rose to 58,200 from 56,600 in May.

Net borrowing of mortgage debt rose to �7.7bn from �3.3bn in May, coming in above the previous six-month average of �4.9bn.

The 'effective' interest rate - the actual interest paid - on newly-drawn mortgages increased to 4.35% in June from 4.22% the month before. The rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages was 3.96%, up from 3.92% in May.

The report also showed that net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals nudged up to �1.8bn from �1.7bn. Within that, net borrowing through credit cards rose to �0.9bn in June from �0.6bn the month before, while net borrowing through other forms of consumer credit such as car dealership finance and personal loans fell to �0.9bn from �1.1bn.

Looking ahead to the rest of the day, investors were eyeing the latest policy announcement from the US Federal Reserve, which is widely expected to keep the federal funds rate at 3.50% to 3.75%.

In equity markets, oil giants Shell and BP gushed higher in tandem with oil prices.

Weir surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as it hailed strong second-quarter orders and improved momentum.

Sage Group was also a high riser as it reported an 11% jump in revenue for the first nine months of the year, with growth across the group driven by new and existing customers.

Miners Glencore and Rio Tinto both advanced following a half-year production report and first-half results, respectively.

Reckitt Benckiser rallied as the consumer goods giant launched a new �500m share buyback as second-quarter sales accelerated to drive a "good" first-half performance.

Standard Chartered rose as it announced the launch of a $1bn share buyback, lifted its full-year income target and posted better-than-expected first-half profit. In the six months to the end of June, pre-tax profit jumped to a record $4.8bn from $4.4bn in the same period a year earlier, beating analysts' expectations of $4.5bn.

Greggs rallied as the bakery chain reported a rise in first-half profit and sales despite subdued consumer confidence, pointing to growth in the grocery business and strong cost control.

On the downside, Aberdeen and Lancashire Holdings slumped after first-half results, while Diageo was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'hold' from 'buy' at Deutsche Bank.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,899.30 0.26%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,023.41 0.08%

techMARK (TASX) 6,147.49 -0.40%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Weir Group (WEIR) 2,724.00p 7.84%

The Sage Group (SGE) 986.40p 4.32%

Glencore (GLEN) 526.20p 4.05%

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,336.00p 2.98%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,150.00p 2.77%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 7,028.00p 2.49%

BP (BP.) 538.70p 2.42%

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 45.62p 2.22%

Shell (SHEL) 3,284.50p 1.56%

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 437.20p 1.49%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Abrdn (ABDN) 238.20p -3.94%

Entain (ENT) 558.40p -2.51%

Diageo (DGE) 1,637.00p -2.44%

Diploma (DPLM) 7,250.00p -2.22%

Smiths Group (SMIN) 2,608.00p -1.84%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 437.80p -1.62%

3i Group (III) 2,867.00p -1.61%

Admiral Group (ADM) 3,706.00p -1.59%

Unilever (ULVR) 4,932.00p -1.52%

Halma (HLMA) 3,480.00p -1.42%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Greggs (GRG) 1,932.00p 14.08%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 333.80p 7.51%

Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 861.50p 4.43%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 238.60p 3.65%

Inchcape (INCH) 855.50p 3.57%

Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 206.20p 3.00%

XPS Pensions Group (XPS) 341.00p 2.86%

Mony Group (MONY) 211.80p 2.62%

Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 263.50p 2.53%

W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 104.60p 2.53%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 623.00p -5.61%

Breedon Group (BREE) 315.00p -4.12%

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,774.00p -2.53%

Discoverie Group (DSCV) 775.00p -2.15%

Kier Group (KIE) 235.20p -2.08%

SSP Group (SSPG) 202.20p -2.03%

Renishaw (RSW) 4,954.00p -2.03%

Victrex plc (VCT) 781.00p -2.01%

Harworth Group (HWG) 126.40p -1.86%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,067.00p -1.75%