Oil price slump weighs on FTSE 100 as Trump urges against supply cut
to any Brexit news at the moment that it doesn’t take a lot for it to bust out some serious movement.”
Vodafone led the FTSE risers as new boss Nick Read took aim at cutting operating costs by at least £1bn by 2021.
He revealed 900 customer services jobs have been shed amid a drive towards automation, and signalled further cuts ahead.
Shares in Vodafone jumped by 11.24p, or 7.79%, to 155.6p.
Meanwhile, shares in Interserve hit a fresh 30-year low on concerns about the outsourcing company’s financial future.
The stock fell as much as 20% after BBC News reported that an Interserve shareholder doubted the company could survive as it potentially seeks to raise cash to shore up its finances.
But the stock recovered after the company issued a statement saying its strategy was on track, to close 0.82p, or 2.09%, lower at 38.5p.
Elsewhere, European markets were mixed as traders await Italy’s resubmission of its budget to the EU.
David Madden, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said: “Traders are half-expecting a political fight between the two sides as neither are showing any signs of backing down. The Italian market has swung into positive territory as short covering has set in, but the situation has the potential to trigger another round of the eurozone debt crisis.”
The French Cac was up 0.85% while the German Dax was 1.3% higher.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Vodafone up 11.24p to 155.6p, Melrose up 12.2p to 177.1p, Experian up 80.5p to 1,873.5p and Micro Focus up 53p to 1,307p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were British American Tobacco down 126p to 2,836.5p, Smurfit Kappa down 74p to 2,240p, BP down 14.6p to 513.5p and Wood Group down 17.4p to 650.2p.