London open: FTSE gains as Weir, Reckitt rally on results; oil up on MidEast tensions

(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Wednesday, supported by healthy gains in the energy sector and well-received results from the likes of Weir and Reckitt, as oil prices jumped amid renewed Middle East tensions.

At 0837 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 10,932.62, while Brent crude was 3.8% higher at $87.30 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was up 3.8% at $82.26 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."

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.

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.

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

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 was on the front foot 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 was the worst performer on the top-flight index after first-half results.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,932.62 0.57%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,031.59 0.11%

techMARK (TASX) 6,180.47 0.13%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Weir Group (WEIR) 2,698.00p 7.84%

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,508.00p 7.34%

Glencore (GLEN) 527.70p 4.25%

Games Workshop Group (GAW) 20,220.00p 3.03%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,160.00p 2.72%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,186.00p 2.39%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,987.00p 1.97%

BP (BP.) 533.30p 1.54%

Shell (SHEL) 3,276.00p 1.34%

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 1,569.60p 1.33%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Abrdn (ABDN) 233.00p -4.59%

Diageo (DGE) 1,652.00p -1.52%

Autotrader Group (AUTO) 525.00p -1.21%

3i Group (III) 2,866.00p -1.20%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 440.50p -1.05%

SEGRO (SGRO) 987.80p -1.02%

Admiral Group (ADM) 3,724.00p -0.85%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 5,045.00p -0.79%

Kingfisher (KGF) 308.20p -0.71%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 8,196.00p -0.70%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Greggs (GRG) 1,862.00p 10.36%

Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 333.00p 6.50%

Inchcape (INCH) 862.50p 3.94%

Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 160.20p 3.62%

Hays (HAS) 65.50p 3.54%

Harbour Energy (HBR) 236.00p 2.95%

Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 846.00p 2.61%

Kainos Group (KNOS) 911.00p 2.33%

Globaldata (DATA) 83.45p 2.19%

Dr. Martens (DOCS) 80.00p 2.17%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 626.50p -4.24%

Premier Foods (PFD) 191.00p -3.96%

Templeton Emerging Markets Inv Trust (TEM) 292.00p -2.01%

Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 994.00p -1.97%

Hansa Investment Company Limited (DI) (HAN) 324.00p -1.82%

Caledonia Investments (CLDN) 378.50p -1.82%

Unite Group (UTG) 542.00p -1.72%

SSP Group (SSPG) 202.80p -1.55%

Fidelity Emerging Markets Limited Ptg NPV (FEML) 1,340.00p -1.46%

Schroder Asian Total Return Investment Company (ATR) 641.00p -1.38%