FTSE 100 in positive territory but oil price fall hits BP PLC and Royal Dutch

• FTSE 100 closes higher
• Standard Life Aberdeen gets Deutsche boost
• US jobs data disappoints

5.25pm: FTSE closes ahead

FTSE 100 closed in the green, as did FTSE 250, while US stocks were mainly mixed as rising US bond yields continues to dent sentiment.

The UK’s premier share index finished around 17 points higher at 6,779, while the midcap FTSE 250 added around ten points at 21,568.

“A largely mixed day for UK stocks, with the helping to weaken the pound to the benefit of the FTSE 100. The meeting made a somewhat predictable move away from easing, but instead shifted into a holding pattern where economic optimism doesn’t necessarily require a hawkish shift quite yet,” noted Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at trading group IG.

It comes after yesterday, the Fed kept its dovish stance on policy and chairman Jerome Powell said that interest rates would be likely to stay near zero through 2023, which pushed up European stocks today.

“The central theme for central banks right now is that while they expect to see a major economic bounce back, the proof will be in the pudding,” added Mahony.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added over 141 points at 33,156, while the S&P 500 lost 16 at 3,957 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index plunged 197 at 13,327.

3.55pm: Market shrugs off crude drop

Oil prices are on the slide again with Brent crude down 2.96% at $65.31 a barrel and WTI – the US benchmark – falling 4.26% to $61.85.

Edward Moya at Oanda said: “Crude prices are declining for a fifth consecutive day as concerns grow that Europe won’t have a regular summer.  The crude demand outlook for the US appears to be the complete opposite for the eurozone.  Europe is seeing a third straight week of rising of COVID-19 cases and with vaccination hurdles remaining in place, the outlook does not seem it will be getting better anytime soon.

“A strong dollar is emerging post-Fed decision [which] is accelerating the weakness in oil prices.  

“WTI crude could soften some more, but should start to see buyers emerge around the $60 level.  Significant weakness from here seems unlikely since the short-term hit to demand outlook should be temporary and OPEC+ production could stay steady for another month.” 

With the crude price weakness, BP PLC (LON.BP) is down 0.26% or 0.8p at 312.65p while Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LON.RDSB) has seen its B shares decline 13p or 0.89% to 1442.8p.

Miners however are giving some support to the market, with Evraz PLC (LON.EVR) up 14.4p or 2.67% to 554.6p and Antofagasta PLC (LON.ANTO) adding 33.5p or 1.96% to 1742p.

Overall the FTSE 100 remains positive, up 17.23 points or 0.25%. In the US the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.5% but the same cannot be said for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, down more than 1.3%.

2.50pm: Leading shares edge higher

Leading shares are just about keeping their heads above water, with the FTSE 100 up 19.03 points or 0.28% at 6781.7.

The mood has been helped a little by the Dow Jones Industrial Average showing a bit of life, up 0.36% or 119.21 at 33,134.58. However both the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 are both in negative territory.

Among the risers Standard Life Aberdeen PLC (LON.SLA) is up 4.4p or 1.56% at 286.7p after analysts at moved from hold to buy with a target price raised from 310p to 335p.

They said: “Standard Life Aberdeen has been through the trenches since its merger, but the new chief executive and the new group targets offer a clear focus as to how the current headwinds can be addressed. Even on our assumption of only partial delivery, we now see core fund management profits doubling over the next three years – with further upside in 2024. This in turn implies a 33% uplift to our 2023 core profit forecast.

“Whilst we recognise that we could be a little early given that…