FTSE 100 heads for biggest weekly gain in six weeks
Britain's FTSE 100 was on course for its biggest weekly gain in six weeks today.
The commodity heavy blue-chip index was up 1.7 per cent on the week, after oil prices touched $50 per barrel yesterday, and bank shares also made gains.
It was down 0.1 per cent to 6,260.3 points in late afternoon trading. The index soared to its highest level since 29 April yesterday after adding more than two per cent in three days.
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Analysts said that the mood had improved amid the reduced likelihood of the UK exiting the European Union when it votes in a referendum on 23 June, as well as higher oil prices earlier in the week.
"We've had a decent move upwards over the last week or so, helped by the rise in crude above 50 bucks. But if some of these commodity-related stocks and financials start to tail back off again, then the overall market could drift heading into the weekend," TJM Partners head of trading, Manoj Ladwa, said.
"With the headwinds of a possible interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve, and the EU referendum in June, there might not be a huge amount of new money coming into the market."
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Oil and gas shares have been buoyed by the black stuff's recent rally amid supply stoppages in North America, Africa and the Middle East. But crude fell back from $50 today as investors worried higher prices would exacerbate the global oversupply.
This helped send BP down one per cent to 360.7p per share, while Royal Dutch Shell slipped 0.8 per cent to 1,679p per share.
However, Barclays shares rose one per cent to 186.6p per share, while HSBC swelled 0.4 per cent to 447.9p per share and RBS added 1.3 per cent to 251.7p per share.