Archived article
Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.
UK stocks opened higher on Tuesday as oil plays continued to benefit from attacks on Saudi crude supplies, though fertilizer developer Sirius minerals plunged due to financing difficulties.
At 0900, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 19.51 points, or 0.3%, at 7.340.92.
Shell and BP rose 1.7% and 1.3%, respectively.
Sirius Minerals plummeted 52% to 4.77p after it admitted that it wasn't likely to get a delayed $500m bond offering away due to market uncertainty, forcing it to slow the development of its flagship fertilizer project in Yorkshire.
Online grocery retailer Ocado pared early losses to rise 0.9% to 1,362p on reporting 11.4% growth in third-quarter retail sales, putting it on track to meet its full-year guidance of 10-15% growth.
Struggling fashion chain French Connection slumped 15% to 32.42p as it booked another loss and said it had extended a strategic review process again after failing to attract a takeover bid.
Recruitment and training group Staffline tumbled 20% to 123.82 after it swung to a first-half loss, pinned on the delayed publication of its 2018 results and a challenging trading environment.
Employee services company Personal Group fell 3.9% to 336p, even as it posted a 5.6% rise in first-half profit, though it also said new sales had been slower than expected.