(Sharecast News) - London stocks were just a smidgen higher in early trade on Tuesday amid rising oil prices, as investors continued to assess developments in the Middle East.
At 0845 GMT, the FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 10,331.83. Brent crude was 3.9% higher at $104.10 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was ahead 4.5% at $97.70.
Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "The optimism which mounted on Monday is fizzling out. Crude prices are rising again, and London's FTSE 100 has had a flat start to trading, with energy giants offering some support but other losses, such as falls in airline stocks, offsetting gains.
"Investors are assessing the impact of a longer, drawn-out conflict on economies around the world. European indices are expected to be in the red in early trade, and more pessimism is set to spread on Wall Street."
In equity markets, Trustpilot surged as the customer feedback platform reported full-year profits ahead of expectations.
IP Group was also in the black as it hailed a return to NAV growth in 2025.
DIY and trade retailer Wickes gained as it reported a jump in annual profits and announced a 10m share buyback, adding that it was "comfortable" with progress towards current-year forecasts despite the wet English winter hampering outdoor projects.
Travis Perkins nudged lower as it warned of subdued market conditions as it swung to an annual loss.
Close Brothers was in the red again as it reported a narrowing of its first-half losses and said it was planning to cut around 600 jobs by the end of financial 2027 as it accelerates its cost-cutting programme.
Shares in the company tumbled late on Monday after Viceroy Research said in a note that it had "systematically misrepresented" its exposure to the car finance scandal.
Viceroy said that examination of the Financial Conduct Authority's redress scheme suggests that Close Brothers will have to "at least, double its existing provisions".
The short-seller, famous for its exposes on Wirecard and Home Reit, said Close Brothers has not fully provisioned for the redress because further provisions would breach CET1 regulatory capital restrictions and could create "an equity wipeout event".
Viceroy said Close Brothers' redress exposure ranges from 572m to 1.2bn, which is well above its current provision of 300m.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,331.83 0.14%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,995.74 -0.12%
techMARK (TASX) 5,814.12 -0.36%
FTSE 100 - Risers
3i Group (III) 3,005.00p 3.07%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,296.00p 2.21%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,373.50p 1.55%
Severn Trent (SVT) 3,189.00p 1.43%
Centrica (CNA) 211.00p 1.34%
BT Group (BT.A) 217.30p 1.30%
SSE (SSE) 2,740.00p 1.10%
Shell (SHEL) 3,448.50p 1.05%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,536.00p 0.92%
Tesco (TSCO) 494.60p 0.88%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 8,098.00p -1.58%
Spirax Group (SPX) 6,525.00p -1.21%
Croda International (CRDA) 2,592.00p -1.18%
Halma (HLMA) 3,790.00p -1.15%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 128.90p -1.08%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 348.80p -1.05%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,347.00p -1.03%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 475.10p -1.00%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,360.00p -0.92%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,798.00p -0.92%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 205.80p 16.41%
IP Group (IPO) 53.50p 9.85%
Edinburgh Worldwide Inv Trust (EWI) 227.50p 3.88%
Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 89.00p 3.13%
Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 96.40p 2.44%
Schroder Oriental Income Fund Ltd. (SOI) 386.00p 2.12%
Foresight Environmental Infrastructure Limited (FGEN) 72.50p 1.97%
JPMorgan India Growth & Income (JIGI) 888.00p 1.95%
W.A.G Payment Solutions (EWG) 107.00p 1.89%
Wickes Group (WIX) 216.00p 1.86%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Primary Health Properties (PHP) 98.85p -3.35%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 282.40p -2.96%
Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 314.20p -2.42%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 492.80p -2.26%
Computacenter (CCC) 2,906.00p -2.22%
Energean (ENOG) 871.50p -2.12%
Hays (HAS) 33.82p -2.02%
Senior (SNR) 277.50p -1.95%
Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 284.50p -1.83%
NCC Group (NCC) 118.20p -1.83%
69.98 (0.68%)
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