FTSE 100 ends the week in a party mood as oil stocks jump
After a week of turmoil, the FTSE 100 finished Friday on an upbeat note, closing 2.2 per cent higher, at 5,900 points.
Other European stocks followed suit, with the French Cac finishing more than three per cent higher, and the German Dax ending almost two per cent higher.
The news followed a bounce in oil prices, with Brent crude rising above $30 for the first time this week, jumping seven per cent to $31.30, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 6.3 per cent, to $31.38, as a cold snap across Europe and the US increased demand for heating oil.
However, mining stocks erased early gains, with Glencore finishing five per cent lower, while Anglo American closed 8.9 per cent lower.
The index was pushed higher by Sports Direct, which has been the subject of privatisation rumours. The retailer finished 6.3 per cent higher, at 422.7p.
It was followed by Shell and BG Group, which both rose five per cent. A mega-merger between the two oil giants is subject of in-fighting between shareholders – although shares in Shell fell on Wednesday after it warned on its profits.
"Thoughts of doom and gloom, which so dominated the first half of the week, have been banished as investors take the opportunity to buy up anything that isn’t nailed down," said Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG.
"With all the negativity that drove the downward moves in the first half of the month, it has not been surprising to see an upward surge that has been as remarkable as the sell-off that preceded it.
"The key question now is whether the broader investment backdrop has changed as a result of the ECB’s meeting yesterday, and whether the coming Fed meeting will lead to any backtracking on the previous forecasts from US policymakers that four rate increases are the likely outcome in 2016."