FTSE 100 Gains As Investors Await Jeremy Hunt's Financial Statement
(RTTNews) - U.K. stocks were a tad higher on Monday as higher oil prices lifted energy stocks and investors awaited a statement from Britain's new finance minister Jeremy Hunt on the government's fiscal plans.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was up 27 points, or 0.4 percent, at 6,886 after closing up 0.1 percent on Friday.
Oil & gas firm BP Plc rose 0.7 percent and Shell added half a percent as oil prices rose about 1 percent on a softer dollar and amid hopes of better fuel demand from China.
Investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, which is facing a £100 million ($113 million) lawsuit from thousands of investors, plunged 7.7 percent.
Broadcaster ITV surged 8.3 percent, buoyed by a Financial Times report that the company is reviewing the future of its production arm ITV Studios.
ASOS plummeted 12 percent. The online fashion retailer confirmed reports suggesting that it is in negotiations with its lenders over changing the terms of its 350 million pound ($394 million) borrowing facility.
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