Oil price rally lifts FTSE to record high

Market report Emma Newlands

London’s blue- chip index hit a record high as rising oil prices helped lift UK stocks.

The FTSE 100 ended the day up 53.77 points at 7,787.97, marking its highest level since January.

It came on the back of a rise in Brent crude prices, which rose 0.79 per cent to $ 79.92 per barrel in afternoon trading.

That marked a new 42- month high for the commodity, sparked by the prospect of lower global supplies as the US walks away from the nuclear deal with Iran.

I t help ed l i f t UK oi l majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell’s ‘ B’ shares, which were up 8.1p at 584p and 58.5p at 2,805p, respectively and among the biggest risers on the FTSE 100.

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The death of the bull market has been greatly exaggerated, not for the first time in recent histor y. The FTSE did endure a shaky star t to the year, but after t wo months of steady climbing, has now regained and surpassed its previous high.”

I n c u r r e n c y mar ke t s , t h e p o u n d wa s f l a t against the dollar at $ 1.350, but rose 0.1 per cent against the euro to € 1.145.

Bookies were sold off in morning trading after the government announced it would cut the maximum stake on fixed- odds betting terminals to £ 2.

However, stocks including William Hill and Paddy Power Betfair made gains in the afternoon, closing up 13.3p at 330.8p and 155p at 8,405p respectively.

Experian jumped to the top of the FTSE 100, ri si ng 95.5p to 1 , 804.5p, after i t announced plans for a $ 400 million share buyback. The Londonlisted online grocery operator has announced its fifth international deal, this time round with US food retailer Kroger. Royal Mail warned that next week’s major shakeup of personal data rules may hit UK mailings as business uncertainty also takes its toll.