Oil price rise provides thrust for FTSE 100

Top-flight stocks in London were boosted by rising oil prices in yesterday’s trading, but observers said a recovery could not make up for the “dreadful” week on the markets.

The FTSE 100 was up 74 points, or 1.1%, at 6,778.11, regaining only some of what it lost on Thursday when £56 billion was wiped amid fears that the arrest of a senior Huawei official in Canada could reignite tension between the US and China.

The FTSE 100 was also given a boost by oil prices after a closely watched Opec meeting in Vienna concluded with a plan to cut production by 1.2 million barrels a day.

Meanwhile, the pound was down 0.44% at 1.272 US dollars and down 0.51% versus the euro at 1.176.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Wood Group up 26.6p to 628p and Evraz up 17.8p to 481.6p.

The biggest fallers were Associated British Foods down 108p to 2,242p and GVC Holdings down 13p to 669p.