easyJet Share News (EZJ)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks started the bank holiday-shortened week on a strong note, with the FTSE 100 climbing to a seven-month high on Tuesday as an oil rally boosted the likes of Royal Dutch Shell and BP.The FTSE 100 ended up 63.19 points, or 0.9%, at 7,523.07 on Tuesday. London's blue-chip index reached 7,528.93 in intraday trade, the best level since late September 2018.The FTSE 250 index closed up 72.09 points, or 0.4%, at 19,908.02, while the AIM All-Share finished up 3.41 points, or 0.4%, at 958.56.The Cboe UK 100 index closed up 0.8% at 12,762.28. The Cboe UK 250 ended up 0.2% at 17,799.98, and the Cboe UK Small Companies up 0.3% at 11,485.39.The UK's headline stock index was boosted on Tuesday as the price of oil accelerated to its best level thus far in 2019. Brent was quoted at USD74.46 a barrel at the London market close on Tuesday after hitting a high of USD74.68 earlier in the morning session, the best price since the beginning of November. A barrel was quoted at USD71.70 late Thursday before the long weekend. The oil rally came as the US toughened is stance towards Iranian exports. The US has decided not to extend waivers offered to eight countries which allowed them to buy oil from Iran despite US sanctions that went into effect in November.The move is "intended to bring Iran's oil exports to zero, denying the regime its principal source of revenue," according to the White House.China, India, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey were granted a six-month waiver in November allowing them to continue importing Iranian oil. Monday's announcement means that period will not be extended beyond its May 2 expiration.The boosted Brent price caused oil stock to rally, with Royal Dutch Shell 'A' shares ending up 2.3%, 'B' shares up 2.4%, and BP shares up 2.6%. "With OPEC cuts still in place and Iran's oil exports on route to zero, oil is looking well supported at these levels and could easily move higher," commented Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at city Index."A significant spike higher could be on the cards should the gap left by Iran oil exports not get plugged quickly. The overall picture right now points to risks that are skewed to the upside," Cincotta added.In other commodities, gold was quoted at USD1,268.70 an ounce at the London equities close Tuesday, lower compared to USD1,275.20 at the close on Thursday.In European equities, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt finished up 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.The euro stood at USD1.1205 at the European equities close Tuesday, down against USD1.1243 at the same time on Thursday.Meanwhile, the pound was quoted at USD1.2932 at the London equities close Tuesday, down from USD1.3004 at the close on Thursday."Movement in the pound has fluctuated with Theresa May's fortunes and the chances of a chaotic no deal Brexit," commented City Index's Cincotta. "Sentiment has improved slightly over the last few months as Britain moves further away from a no deal Brexit. However, a leadership contest before Brexit is resolved could prove too much for sterling."A senior Conservative backbencher has called on UK Prime Minister Theresa May to announce her resignation to allow a contest to choose her replacement to begin "straight away".Nigel Evans, the joint executive secretary of the backbench Tory 1922 Committee, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that calls for the prime minister's removal had become a "clamour" and he would be "delighted" if she announced plans to quit today.On Monday, it emerged the PM could face an unprecedented vote of confidence in her leadership after 70 local Conservative association chiefs signed a petition in support of a poll.They called for an extraordinary general meeting of the National Conservative Convention to discuss the prime minister's leadership of the party, The Telegraph reported. A non-binding vote is expected to be held at the meeting, which would - if it showed a lack of confidence - put pressure on the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs to find a way of forcibly removing May from office.The comments from Evans came as May convened her Cabinet on Tuesday, while cross-party talks between the government and the Labour Party resumed in a fresh bid to break the Brexit impasse.Stocks in New York were higher at the London equities close, with the DJIA up 0.4%, the S&P 500 index up 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbing 0.8%.As US earnings season continues, shares in Twitter rose 17% in opening trade as the social media site beat analyst expectations.Average monthly active users or MAU were 330 million in the first quarter, down from 336 million in the prior year, but up from 321 million in the prior quarter.Adjusted earnings per share were USD0.37 compared to USD0.16 last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of just USD0.15 per share for the quarter.In London, airlines were hurting from the rise in oil prices, with FTSE 100-listed easyJet falling 4.0% and British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines down 3.4%. Higher oil prices result in elevated fuel prices for airlines, eating into profit. In the FTSE 250, Wizz Air fell 3.0% while Irish airline Ryanair slipped 4.3%. Another faller in the FTSE 250 was Ferrexpo, sliding 3.9% after the iron ore pellet producer posted a fall in annual profit. Revenue rose 5.8% to USD1.27 billion from USD1.20 billion due to higher pellet premiums, which climbed to more than 30% above 2017 levels.Pretax profit, however, declined 13% to USD392.0 million from USD449.8 million as operating expenses rose 18% to USD844.5 million from USD717.4 million. Meanwhile, Travis Perkins shares rose 2.2% after the builders' merchant was raised to Buy from Neutral by Bank of America.Elsewhere on the Main Market, Thomas Cook shares jumped 18% after Sky News reported there has been interest in taking over the London-listed travel agent.Fosun, a Chinese company and Thomas Cook's largest shareholder, is reported to be "among those which have lodged a preliminary interest" in buying Thomas Cook's tour operating business.Fosun has a 17% stake in Thomas Cook and runs a joint venture with the company in China. Sky noted that, under EU law, airlines based in the EU must be majority-owned by European investors so Fosun cannot buy Thomas Cook's carrier.Sky also reported that parties are "weighing formal approaches for the entire ‎company", with an update on a possible full takeover expected with Thomas Cook's half-year report in May.Despite Tuesday's strong performance, Thomas Cook shares remain 77% lower compared to this time a year ago.In the UK corporate calendar on Wednesday, there are annual results from online fashion retailer Boohoo and interim results from Associated British Foods, parent of brick-and-mortar clothing retailer Primark. There are also first quarter results from speciality chemicals firm Croda International and a trading statement from building materials firm CRH.In the economic calendar, Japan's leading economic index is at 0600 BST followed by the Ifo German business climate survey at 0900 BST and UK public sector borrowing at 0930 BST. In the afternoon, there is the Bank of Canada's latest interest rate decision at 1500 BST and US MBA mortgage applications at 1200 BST.