The commodity-rich FTSE 100 index rose as much as 0.7% to a record high of 9,579.07 points. By 1200 GMT the price was up 0.6%.
Oil giants Shell and BP gained about 3% each, while crude prices rose more than 5% after the US imposed sanctions on major Russian suppliers Rosneft and Lukoil over the war in Ukraine.
The London Stock Exchange Group’s profits rose 6.7% after the exchange operator said it would sell 20% of its post-trade services business, announced a surprise 1 billion pound ($1.34 billion) buyback and reported better-than-expected third-quarter results.
Rentokil rose 11.8% after the pest control company reported a better-than-expected increase in quarterly organic sales.
A largely positive earnings season, a rise in commodity shares and signs of cooling inflation that supported expectations of a Bank of England rate cut have supported UK stock markets this week. The FTSE 100 is on course for its best weekly performance since mid-April. The FTSE mid-cap index of domestically-oriented shares rose 0.1% to trade at an almost four-year high. An index of British precious metals miners rose 4.5%, tracking gold prices, while US sanctions on Russia and possible new export controls on China fueled geopolitical concerns, boosting demand for safe-haven assets.
On the other hand, InterContinental Hotels, owner of Holiday Inn, fell 1.2% despite rising in a key revenue metric as growth in US markets slowed.
St James’s Place lost 4% as the fund manager forecast weaker flows for the fourth quarter.
Renishaw fell 6% to the bottom of the FTSE 250 index after the engineering firm posted weak quarterly sales.
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