LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Stocks End Higher, Ocado Promoted To FTSE 100

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London ended higher on Wednesday as fears surrounding political turmoil in Italy eased, with oil majors driving gains in the FTSE 100. The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.8%, or 56.93 points at 7689.57. The FTSE 250 ended up 0.4%, or 75.91 points, at 2822.67, and the AIM All-Share closed up 0.1%, or 1.09 points, at 1081.05.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.5% at 13,007.18, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.2% at 18,996.85, and the Cboe UK Small Companies ended down 0.3% at 12,665.89.Italian President Sergio Mattarella and the ex-IMF director he appointed as interim premier have deferred their efforts to form an interim government amid reports of "new possibilities" of a political agreement for an elected coalition.Italy's anti-establishment Five Star Movement and the anti-immigrant League party failed to form a coalition government on the weekend after Mattarella refused to approve their nominee for finance minister. The candidate, Paolo Savona, was known for his criticism of the eurozone and Germany.The M5S and the League later pledged to use their parliamentary majority to sabotage plans for an interim government set up by economist Carlo Cottarelli - a move that would push Italy into fresh elections later this year and almost certainly strengthen the EU-critical parties."As if yesterday didn't happen, risk was back on the menu today after a renewed effort by Italy's political parties to form a coalition government eased investor nerves. While the situation is far from being resolved, and major differences between the leaders of the populist parties remain, the fact that they are holding talks to form a coalition government means a new election could be avoided which should calm investor nervous a little," said Forex.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada.On the London Stock Exchange, heavyweight oil stocks ended as the best performers with Royal Dutch Shell 'B', up 2.2%, BP, up 2.2% and Shell 'A', up 2.1%. The North Sea benchmark was quoted at USD77.05 a barrel at the London equities close, up from USD74.61 at the close Tuesday.Oil rallied after a report said the Organization of the Petroleum would keep its supply quota in place. Prices had come under pressure amid expectations that OPEC would lift production to help offset output losses from Iran and Venezuela.At the other end of the large cap index, G4S ended as the worst performer down 1.5%. The security services company was demoted from the FTSE 100, as part of the latest quarterly index reshuffle announced after the market close. With a total market value of GBP4.29 billion G4S was certain to be relegated from the index of large caps alongside private hospital group Mediclinic International with a market cap of GBP4.55 billion.Online grocer Ocado Group and gaming firm GVC Holdings were promoted to the FTSE 100 Index from FTSE 250 Index, with a total market value of GBP5.80 billion and GBP5.83 billion, respectively. Royal Bank of Scotland closed down 1.4% after the state-backed lender said Chief Financial Officer Ewen Stevenson will step down from his role to take up an opportunity elsewhere. The date of his departure is yet to be confirmed, however he will remain in his position to allow for a smooth handover process. In the FTSE 250, Bodycote ended as the best performer up 7.3% after the heat treatment and coating services firm said it expects its annual revenue and profit to be higher than previously expected. For the first four months of the year, from January to April, the company reported a 7% increase in revenue compared to the same period last year. Due to this "robust" growth, Bodycote expects full-year revenue to be higher than previously expected and its headline operating profit to be "slightly ahead" of consensus. The company's net cash at the end of April was GBP45 million compared to GBP40 million at the end of 2017.At the other end of the midcaps, Stobart Group closed down 5.2% after the support services firm said Cenkos Securities resigned as its joint broker following Stobart's recent revelation of a boardroom rift. On Friday last week, Stobart said Andrew Tinkler, its former chief executive and a current executive director, has informed the company he will vote against the re-election of Chairman Iain Ferguson at its annual general meeting, the date of which was unspecified. All other directors offered support to Ferguson, with non-executive directors Andrew Wood and John Coombs saying they would quit if Ferguson is not re-elected. The pound was firm quoted at USD1.3291 at the London equities close, compared to USD1.3255 at the same time on Tuesday. In Paris the CAC 40 ended down 0.5%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ended up 0.9%. The euro stood at USD1.6665 at the European equities close, against USD1.1553 the prior day.In economic news, Germany's consumer prices climbed at the fastest pace in more than a year in May largely on higher liquid fuel costs, flash data from Destatis showed.Consumer prices climbed 2.2% year-on-year in May, faster than the 1.6% increase in April and the expected growth of 1.9%. The last time the inflation rate reached this level was in February 2017. EU harmonized inflation also accelerated to 2.2% in May, from 1.4% in April. This was above the forecast of 1.8%.In addition, Germany's unemployment rate declined to a record low in May, data from the Federal Labor Agency showed. The unemployment rate fell to 5.2% in May, the lowest since German reunification in 1990. The rate was expected to remain unchanged at 5.3%.Stocks in New York were higher at the London equities close as data showed economic growth in the US was revised down in the first quarter of 2018, according to a report released by the Commerce Department.US GDP increased at a 2.2% annual rate, the Commerce Department said in its second estimate of first-quarter GDP, instead of the previously reported 2.3% reading. The economy grew at a 2.9% rate in the fourth quarter.The DJIA was up 0.8%, the S&P 500 index up 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.8%.Gold was marginally lower quoted at USD1,302.17 an ounce at the London equities close against USD1,304.15 late Tuesday.The economic events calendar on Thursday there is Japan industrial production data at 0030 BST, France inflation readings at 0745 BST, Italy unemployment data at 0900 BST, UK mortgage approvals at 0930 BST and eurozone inflation and jobless data at 1000 BST. In the afternoon there is US personal consumption expenditure figures at 1330 BST. The UK corporate calendar on Thursday there are full year results from chemicals company Johnson Matthey and transport company FirstGroup. There is also a trading statement from greeting cards retailer Card Factory.