European shares turn negative and Credit Suisse shares fall nearly 9% as sentiment remains fragile
BP is the top riser on the FTSE 100, up nearly 4%, as oil prices have strengthened, with Brent crude, the global benchmark, rising to $75 a barrel. Shell is 3.2% ahead while mining companies Glencore and Antofagasta are also among the biggest risers.
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at the trading platform interactive investor said:
European markets have opened higher with oil giants like Shell and BP at the top of the FTSE 100 thanks to strengthening oil prices. Focus turns to the latest euro area inflation data at 10am which is expected to remain at around 8.5%, a day after the ECB raised rates by 50 basis points despite the market turmoil.
Investors regained some poise after the tribulations of recent days, boosted by further actions to stem the potential of bank sector contagion…
The general waves of relief also washed over to UK shores, with the main indices again reflecting a more positive frame of mind for now. Banks recovered some of the losses of the last week, although there remains some way to go before the potential of contagion can be definitively dismissed and those share prices be able to return to their previous levels. Meanwhile, resource stocks also saw from benefit from some renewed strength in the oil price, although that price is still down by 13% this year. Broker upgrades to the likes of the London Stock Exchange and GlaxoSmithKline also underpinned something of a return to a risk-on approach by investors.
