LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Five-Month Oil High Tips FTSE 100 Into Green

LONDON (Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 ended just about in the green on Monday as the price of Brent crude strengthened to a five-month high, allowing the blue-chip index to rebound from some early losses as London's oil majors gained.The FTSE 100 index closed up 5.02 points, or 0.1%, at 7,451.89. The headline UK stock index had hit a low of 7,420.41 in early dealings. The FTSE 250 ended down 21.09 points, or 0.1%, at 19,517.21, and the AIM All-Share closed up 2.14 points, or 0.2%, at 924.64.The Cboe UK 100 ended down 0.2% at 12,627.04, the Cboe UK 250 closed down 0.3% at 17,420.86, and the Cboe Small Companies ended flat at 11,242.54."Equities have been mostly lower all day, although losses have been contained to an extent," commented Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG. "A degree of weakness was hardly surprising, after indices rallied on Friday on the strong US jobs figures, but already that downward move is being reversed." "Until the ECB meeting markets will have to get by on very little macro news. However, for the most part, the ongoing recovery in risk assets is still intact," said Beauchamp. Oil majors ended among the top performers in the FTSE 100, with BP shares closing up 1.7%, Royal Dutch Shell 'A' shares up 1.2% and 'B' shares up 1.0% as the price of Brent rose.Brent oil was quoted at USD70.90 a barrel at the London equities close Monday, trading around five-month highs, up from USD69.90 late Friday.Oil was boosted amid supply concerns, explained David Madden at CMC Markets. "OPEC are reducing output, the US have imposed sanctions against Venezuela and Iran, and conflict in Libya has all helped drive oil to its highest level since November," said Madden.Gold also gained on Monday amid the subdued trade, the safe haven asset quoted at USD1,297.36 an ounce at the London equities close Monday against USD1,291.30 at the close on Friday.In the UK, time is running out for the UK prime minister to reach a Brexit compromise with the opposition Labour party ahead of a summit with European leaders on Wednesday.Ahead of the summit, UK Prime Minister Theresa May is to visit German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Tuesday.May has told EU leaders she wants a delay to Brexit until June 30 at the latest, with the possibility of an early exit if she can get a deal through Parliament. However, Brussels is expected to demand a clear strategy from the prime minister at a meeting of EU leaders on Wednesday and could insist on a longer delay which would require the UK to participate in European elections.In a video message recorded in her Chequers country retreat, May said both sides will have to compromise in the cross-party talks with Labour.The negotiations stalled after Labour said the prime minister had refused to set out any changes to her Brexit red lines and no further face-to-face meetings have yet been confirmed.May acknowledged that she could not see the Commons accepting her deal in its current form and MPs would not agree to a no-deal exit - currently the default position at 11pm on Friday unless an extension is granted.The pound was quoted at USD1.3040 at the London equities close Monday, firm compared to USD1.3020 at the close on Friday.In European equities on Monday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 0.1%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ended 0.4% lower.In disappointing news for the German economy, figures showed exports and imports declined more-than-expected in February at the fastest pace in a year.Exports fell a calendar and seasonally-adjusted 1.3% month-on-month, preliminary figures from the Federal Statistical Office showed on Monday, while economists had forecast a 0.4% drop. The decline was the first in three months and the biggest since February 2018, when shipments shrunk 2.3%.Imports decreased 1.6% in February, which was more than double the 0.7% slump economists had forecast. The 1.5% growth originally reported for January was revised down slightly to 1.4%. The euro stood at USD1.1260 at the European equities close Monday, up against USD1.1217 at the same time on Friday.Stocks in New York were lower at the London equities close, with the DJIA down 0.4%, the S&P 500 index down 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.2%. Though the US corporate calendar is light at the start of the week, Friday sees earnings season kick off with first-quarter numbers due from banks JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.In London on Monday, engineering and aerospace firms were lower on news Boeing ill cut production of its 737 Max airliner this month by almost 20%, underscoring the growing financial risk it faces the longer that its best-selling plane remains grounded after two deadly crashes.Boeing had already suspended deliveries of the Max last month after regulators around the world grounded the jet.Preliminary reports into accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia found that faulty sensor readings erroneously triggered an anti-stall system that pushed the plane's nose down.FTSE 100-listed Melrose Industries fell 1.9% while engine maker Rolls-Royce closed down 1.7%."The ripple out effect within the aerospace and engineering will equate to fewer orders across the board," said CMC's Madden. Weighing down the FTSE 250 were rating downgrades for Saga and Aston Martin, closing down 10% and 7.9% respectively. UBS cut over-50s insurer Saga to Neutral from Buy in the wake of a profit warning last week, while luxury car maker Aston Martin was reduced to Hold from Buy by Deutsche Bank.At the top of the mid-cap index was Indivior, gaining 6.0% after saying analysis of its Sublocade slow-release injectable found the drug could be more effective as an addition treatment at a higher dose.In a post-hoc analysis of the phase three Sublocade study, and subsequent open-label study, injecting opioid users who were treated with the 300 milligram Sublocade maintenance dose were found to have spent longer in treatment and were more likely to complete the study than those taking 100 mg.Sports Direct International shares ended marginally lower, down 0.2%, after struggling department store Debenhams rebuffed the sportswear retailer's GBP150 million funding proposal. Debenhams, meanwhile, finished 10% lower. Sports Direct described itself as "disappointed" by Debenhams's decision as it believes that the equity issuance, which would have formed part of a comprehensive refinancing of Debenhams, "should have been deliverable with the co-operation of Debenhams and its existing lenders". Sports Direct's offer came with a number of conditions, including the appointment of the FTSE 250 retailer's boss Mike Ashley as Debenhams chief executive, as well as Debenhams lenders writing off GBP148 million of debt."Sports Direct believes that, in the continued absence of any such engagement from the board of Debenhams and Debenhams' lenders, there is a likely significant and negative impact on Debenhams' current shareholders and other stakeholders, including suppliers and employees," it added.In Tuesday's UK corporate calendar, there are annual results from City Pub Group and LED lighting firm Luceco and interim results from cadmium-free quantum dots manufacturer Nanoco Group.In the economic calendar on Tuesday, the US Redbook index is at 1355 BST and JOLTS job openings at 1500 BST.