Utility shares rise as U.K. gas futures surge, while downpour throws
London stocks rose Tuesday, with utility companies rising as power prices surged again, and major oil companies and banks helping out.
The FTSE 100 index
UKX,
rose 0.6% to 7,040.90, following a 0.2% decline on Monday, which was moderate versus deeper losses elsewhere as surging oil prices drove up heavily weighted energy companies. The pound
GBPUSD,
was steady at $1.3614.
BP
BP,
BP,
and Royal Dutch Shell
RDS.A,
RDSA,
gained close to 2% each as oil prices extended strong gains from Monday that took U.S. crude
CL00,
to a high not seen since 2014 and Brent
BRN00,
to a level not seen since 2018. The U.K. has been seeped in an energy and power crisis.
The latest leg has seen panic buying of fuel over the last two weeks, with the army called in to help with deliveries this week as many stations still don’t have fuel.
Natural gas prices were up on the continent and in the U.K., where December futures jumped 20% to 302.86 pence a therm, as governments and companies nervously look toward winter and a dearth of supplies. Utilities such as Severn Trent
SVT,
and United Utilities
UU,
rose more than 1% each.
Adding some insult to injury, torrential rains pounded London overnight, triggering flash flooding in parts of the city on Tuesday.
The biggest gainer in the FTSE 100 was sporting-goods retailer JD Sports Fashion
JD,
which rose 3%, while real estate website operator Rightmove
RMV,
and online grocery technology firm Ocado
OCDO,
were also among the top gainers, up 3% and 2.9%, respectively.
The biggest faller was generics drugmaker Hikma Pharmaceuticals
HIK,
which fell 2%.
Read More: Utility shares rise as U.K. gas futures surge, while downpour throws