The FTSE 100 again found support in oil majors on Thursday amid absolute chaos in Westminster that threatens further political uncertainty in the UK.
BP and Shell gained 1.7% and 2.3% respectively at the time of wiring and helped to offset losses in miners, pharmaceuticals and housebuilders.
Dechra Pharmaceuticals was the top faller on Thursday shedding some 3.2% after the veterinary pharmaceuticals said they were set to meet full year market expectations but faced challenging comparisons against last year’s strong performance due to COVID-19.
After a strong run from lows around 90p, IAG saw a bout of profit taking on Thursday and slipped 3% to 114p.
UK banks remained firmly range bound with Lloyds, Natwest and Barclays all finding strength after yesterday’s weakness. Lloyds was trading at 41.7p, up 2.7% at the time of writing.
The FTSE 100 was 10 points higher at 6,934 shortly after midday on Thursday.
UK political uncertainty
The FTSE 100 carved out small gains with backdrop of political uncertainty following unprecedented scenes at Westminster last night. MPs were reportedly manhandled into the voting lobby amid a chaotic vote on fracking.
After a frantic night of confusion over whether the vote was classed as a confidence vote, Truss faced a growing number of her MPs calling on her to quit.
Sky News had began tracking the number of MPs publicly saying she should resign – the number stood at 14 at the time of writing.
It’s happened.
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) October 20, 2022
Sky News has launched a ticker of MPs calling for Liz Truss to go. pic.twitter.com/ZA8XYDm6Vg
Should Truss quit, the UK will be thrown back into the uncertainty of a leadership contest and lack of leadership in the interim.
The pound had traded negatively earlier in the session but clawed back losses against the dollar to trade in positive territory.