Commodities rally boosts London’s FTSE 100

A rally among commodity prices sent industrial giants soaring in the City yesterday, lifting London’s bucket of top stocks.

The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index notched up 0.51 per cent to 7,442.39 points, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, dropped 0.71 per cent to 21,006.56 points.

Oil prices jumped yesterday, with the world’s two top benchmarks, WTI and Brent Crude, each adding around five per cent.

Prices have taken off since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on fears over the security of oil supplies as a result of Western sanctions and disruption to trade flows due to the war.

Higher prices have boosted sentiment towards industrial firms.

Oil giant BP and Shell both added more than four per cent. The pair represent an enormous share of the FTSE 100, meaning movements in their share price exert a strong influence over the index’s direction.

Miners Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Glencore all pushed toward the summit of the FTSE 100’s biggest risers during early exchanges.

Russian gold miner Polymetal International, which will be booted from the premier index soon, was the best performer during early exchanges, advancing nearly 13 per cent, before eventually finishing up 3.31 per cent.

Meanwhile, on the FTSE 250 index, short haul airline easyJet lost 3.38 per cent.

The pound was flat against the dollar.