UK energy stocks, including BP Plc and Shell Transport & Trading Co, climbed after oil reached a new high as worsening violence in Iraq threatened to disrupt supplies.
WPP Group Plc, the world's second-largest advertising and marketing company, declined after saying "concerns remain" about economic growth in the US next year.
The benchmark FTSE 100 added 6.60, or 0.2 percent, to 4,369.20 in London. The index rose 1.6 percent since last Friday, and posted its first weekly gain in three. The FTSE All-Share Index rose 2.83, or 0.1 percent, to 2,169.76.
"What's there not to like about oil stocks?" asked Richard Lewis, who oversees US$1 billion in European stocks at New Star Asset Management. "We like oil stocks. There are earnings upgrades coming through."
Crude-oil futures surpassed US$49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, on concern that fighting between US forces and followers of Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr will cut shipments.
BP, Europe's biggest oil company, advanced 2.5 pence, or 0.5 percent, to 489.5
Shell, which owns 40 percent of Royal Dutch/Shell, added 5 pence, or 1.3 percent, to 401. It also benefited from a broker upgrade after Merrill Lynch & Co advised investors to buy the stock, citing the possibility of future asset sales and planned investments.
WPP, dropped 6.5 pence, or 1.3 percent, to 488 after Chief Executive Officer Martin Sorrell said "concerns remain" about prospects for the US economy after November's presidential elections. WPP got about 40 percent of its revenue from the US last year.
"WPP's outlook on consumer spending for 2005 is a bit disappointing," said Grahame Exton, part of a team managing the equivalent of about US$921 million at Tilney Investment Management in Liverpool, England.
The company earlier said first-half profit rose 11 percent, boosted by demand in the US and Asia.
"There's a hint of caution when you trawl through WPP's earnings statement," said Exton.
The following stocks made significant gains or losses in London. Symbols are in parentheses after the company name.
British Airways Plc, Europe's second-largest airline, slipped 1.5 pence, or 0.7 percent, to 212.25. The airline today resumed pay talks with unions as the carrier tries to avert strikes by 11,000 baggage handlers and check-in staff next week.
CMS WebView Plc, a real-time financial information provider, jumped 0.75 pence, or 12 percent, to 7. The company said the Chicago Board of Trade, the world's biggest market for Treasury futures, will extend a data agreement.
The Chicago exchange will use CMS's TDI software to distribute market data from the Kansas City Board of Trade and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, the company said.
FirstGroup Plc, the UK's second-largest bus and train company, added 2.5 pence, or 0.9 percent, to 297.25 after it signed a seven-year contract to run the Scottish Passenger Rail franchise.
SETBACK: Apple’s India iPhone push has been disrupted after Foxconn recalled hundreds of Chinese engineers, amid Beijing’s attempts to curb tech transfers Apple Inc assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has recalled about 300 Chinese engineers from a factory in India, the latest setback for the iPhone maker’s push to rapidly expand in the country. The extraction of Chinese workers from the factory of Yuzhan Technology (India) Private Ltd, a Hon Hai component unit, in southern Tamil Nadu state, is the second such move in a few months. The company has started flying in Taiwanese engineers to replace staff leaving, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named, as the
The prices of gasoline and diesel at domestic fuel stations are to rise NT$0.1 and NT$0.4 per liter this week respectively, after international crude oil prices rose last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to rise to NT$27.3, NT$28.8 and NT$30.8 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$26.2 per liter at CPC stations and NT$26 at Formosa pumps, they said. The announcements came after international crude oil prices
A German company is putting used electric vehicle batteries to new use by stacking them into fridge-size units that homes and businesses can use to store their excess solar and wind energy. This week, the company Voltfang — which means “catching volts” — opened its first industrial site in Aachen, Germany, near the Belgian and Dutch borders. With about 100 staff, Voltfang says it is the biggest facility of its kind in Europe in the budding sector of refurbishing lithium-ion batteries. Its CEO David Oudsandji hopes it would help Europe’s biggest economy ween itself off fossil fuels and increasingly rely on climate-friendly renewables. While
SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) is weighing whether to add a life insurance business to its portfolio, but would tread cautiously after completing three acquisitions in quick succession, president Stanley Chu (朱士廷) said yesterday. “We are carefully considering whether life insurance should play a role in SinoPac’s business map,” Chu told reporters ahead of an earnings conference. “Our priority is to ensure the success of the deals we have already made, even though we are tracking some possible targets.” Local media have reported that Mercuries Life Insurance Co (三商美邦人壽), which is seeking buyers amid financial strains, has invited three financial