MARKET REPORT

BP and Shell were on the slide yesterday, down 11¾p to 440¼p and 54½p to 2093½p, as crude prices fell by more than 2 per cent to a two-month low. Aberdeen Asset Management was 2p richer at 318p as it grew assets under management by 3 per cent over the past quarter. Clients withdrew £8.9billion over the period but this was more than offset by a “good investment performance” and currency moves.

Sausage maker Cranswick sizzled, up 28p to 2362p, after a tasty 11 per cent rise in quarterly revenue over the same period last year following a big rise in export volumes to Far Eastern markets. It is also selling its sandwich business to Greencore for £15million.

A new contract worth about £750,000 for a portable X-ray system boosted Image Scan Holdings 0.63p to 3p but Petra Diamonds reversed 2¾p to 116¾p despite a 16 per cent rise in annual production as rough diamond prices dipped 6 per cent. Mariana Resources struck it 6½p richer to 56½p after upgrading estimates for its high-grade copper-gold Hot Maden project in Turkey.