(Sharecast News) - London stocks rose in early trade on Tuesday following a solid session on Wall Street, as investors sifted through a raft of corporate releases.
At 0835 BST, the FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 10,912.99, while Brent crude was up 1.3% at $84.86 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was 0.6% higher at $80.79, having tumbled on Monday.
Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said: "Oil has partially reversed Monday's sharp decline. After Brent fell toward the low $80s/bbl on news that Trump had called off strikes on Iran and restarted diplomacy, prices rebounded, with Brent touching $85/bbl and WTI up 1.2% after its prior 5% drop. The market is now trying to price a more nuanced geopolitical path: lower risk of immediate military escalation, but no guarantee yet that the Strait of Hormuz returns to normal functioning.
"Trump's warning that this is Iran's 'last chance' keeps a hard edge on the diplomacy. Talks between Iran and Oman over improving traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continue, but the gap between negotiations and operational reopening remains important. Oil can shed risk premium quickly when talks resume, but it can also rebuild that premium quickly if talks stall. For central banks, the difference between Brent at $81 and $85 is not dramatic, but the volatility itself matters for inflation expectations."
In equity markets, heavily-weighted miners were the top performers as copper prices rose, with Antofagasta, Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Glencore all up.
Defence firms were also in the black, with BAE Systems and Babcock among the biggest risers on the FTSE 100.
BP rallied as it said underlying profits more than doubled and operating cash flow soared in the second quarter as oil prices surged, but acknowledged that its operational performance "fell short" of expectations, with upstream plant reliability and refining throughput both lower.
The energy major reported an underlying replacement cost profit of $5.73bn for the three months to 30 June, up from $3.20bn in the first quarter and $2.35bn the year before. The company also announced its intention to sell its US biogas business Archaea as it continues to pivot out of renewables.
Travis Perkins, Volution and Domino's all advanced after results, while Segro gained after agreeing to be taken over by US logistics giant Prologis in a 14.3bn deal.
On the downside, HSBC nudged lower despite posting a better-than-expected 23% jump in first-half profit driven by a strong second quarter on the back of net interest income and fees. Pre-tax profit rose to $19.5bn, compared with the $18.9bn average forecast by analysts in a company-compiled consensus. The bank said it was resuming share buybacks with a $1bn repurchase plan.
Medical equipment manufacturer Smith & Nephew tumbled as it trimmed its fullyear revenue growth outlook.
AG Barr fizzed lower as the Irn-Bru maker backed its full-year guidance as it reported a rise in interim revenue, but cautioned over supply chain issues.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,912.99 0.51%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 24,308.42 0.35%
techMARK (TASX) 6,062.94 0.21%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,804.00p 3.53%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,807.00p 2.91%
BAE Systems (BA.) 2,197.00p 2.47%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,174.50p 2.44%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 7,245.00p 2.30%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,535.60p 2.18%
Glencore (GLEN) 551.00p 2.15%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,724.00p 2.09%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,680.00p 2.05%
IMI (IMI) 3,002.00p 1.62%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,112.00p -6.93%
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 7,745.00p -4.22%
Pearson (PSON) 1,226.00p -1.76%
Diageo (DGE) 1,633.50p -1.36%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,189.50p -1.24%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 226.20p -1.15%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,758.00p -1.10%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 407.40p -0.90%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,854.00p -0.90%
Next (NXT) 14,730.00p -0.87%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Travis Perkins (TPK) 654.00p 14.75%
Volution Group (FAN) 666.00p 4.72%
Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) 166.40p 3.84%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,056.00p 3.74%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 389.40p 2.73%
Pacific Horizon Inv Trust (PHI) 1,084.00p 2.46%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 208.40p 2.45%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,592.00p 2.36%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 903.00p 2.27%
Chemring Group (CHG) 615.50p 2.15%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 608.00p -5.27%
Dr. Martens (DOCS) 73.90p -4.89%
AEP Plantations (AEP) 169.00p -3.98%
SSP Group (SSPG) 201.40p -2.61%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 4,180.00p -2.29%
Pollen Street Group Limited (POLN) 832.00p -2.12%
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 446.00p -2.11%
IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 373.50p -1.88%
FirstGroup (FGP) 182.00p -1.73%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 34.42p -1.66%
29.78 (0.27%)
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