London market edges ahead

The London market edged into positive territory as a rise in the price of oil eased the pressure on top-flight stocks.

Benchmark Brent crude stepped up nearly 1% to $44.35 a barrel, rebounding from earlier falls when Kuwait oil workers called off a three-day strike, which had been keeping oil prices afloat after talks on a production freeze ended in stalemate over the weekend.

The FTSE 100 Index was up 4.9 points to 6,410.3.

Germany’s Dax was up 0.7% and the Cac 40 in France climbed 0.6%.