Oil majors lift the FTSE 100, Ted Baker rises

By Muvija M

(Reuters) – Rising tensions on energy heavyweights as tension intensifies in the Middle East has allowed London's main index to outperform its European counterparts on Monday. Ted Baker was in demand after multiple media reports about his recovery plans.

the FTSE 100 index of blue companies <.FTSE> and the FTSE 250 capitalization index <.FTMC> added 0.1% each from here 0758 GMT.

Major oil tanker Shell <RDSa.L> and BP were higher due to higher crude prices, fearing that Iran's seizure of a British oil tanker last week could lead to supply disruptions in the Middle East. [O/R]

Monday's gains in the mid-market were led by Ted Baker Plc <TED.L> with a jump of 15.5%, after a press article according to which its founder, Ray Kelvin, could support a purchase of the retailer by the private sector, several months after his resignation.

tour Operator TUIS <TUIT.L> The shares listed on the London Stock Exchange increased by 2.7%, exceeding FTSE 100 leaders, with a shopkeeper citing a "buy" rating from Stifel and an upgrade from Barclays' ratings for Sainsbury's <SBRY.L> 2.1% gain.

Partially helped by expectations of interest rate cuts by central banks, the FTSE 100's recovered from the recession that she had gone through in May due to the uncertainty of global trade and is currently on track for her best year since 2016.

The index, which generates about two-thirds of its earnings in US dollars, also benefited from the pressure on the Brexit. On Friday, a Reuters poll showed that Eurosceptic Boris Johnson was leading Jeremy Hunt into the race for prime minister.

"Watch for the tone of Brexit and the very clear message that October 31 is a difficult date. As stated earlier, the reality of parliamentary arithmetic could see this situation mitigate later, "said Markets.com badyst Neil Wilson.

Metro Bank <MTRO.L> jumped 2.6% after the troubled mid-cap lender confirmed the information that it was in talks on selling a loan portfolio.

Whitbread, owner of Premier Inn, weighed on the main index <WTB.L>, which lost 2.4% after the company declared that it did not provide a new return of capital to shareholders.

Centrica Energy Corporation <NAC.L> lost 1.1% after The Times announced that the company was about to reduce its dividend and put its oil and gas business on sale.

(Reportage of Muvija M, additional report of Shashwat Awasthi and Samantha Machado in Bengaluru, edited by Shounak Dasgupta)