WINNERS & LOSERS SUMMARY: Oil Stocks And Airlines Bookend FTSE 100

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Tuesday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------Royal Dutch Shell 'A', up 2.5%, Shell 'B', up 2.2%, BP, up 2.2%. The oil majors were tracking spot oil prices higher, quoted at USD74.53 a barrel Tuesday, up from USD71.70 at the London equities close Thursday. Oil prices were higher after the US on Monday said it will not extend waivers to eight countries that have been allowed 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. In the FTSE 250, oil stocks Cairn Energy, Premier Oil and Tullow Oil were up 6.5%, 6.4% and 6.3% respectively. ----------Centrica, up 1.4%. The 'Big Six' energy provider plans to expand its software business, to cash in on increased demand for more flexible grid systems, the Financial Times reported on Monday. According to Jorge Pikunic, Centrica's managing director of Distributed Energy & Power, Centrica is looking to expand the segment's operations over the next three years by "almost fivefold". The group will look to grow the business into a software supplier to other companies, amid plans to increase the amount of renewable energy that currently makes up the UK's electricity supply.----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------easyJet, down 3.9%, International Consolidated Airlines Group, down 2.8%. The airline stocks were lower following the rise in the oil price. Higher oil prices result in increased fuel costs for airline operators. In the FTSE 250, Wizz Air was down 2.7%, while Irish carrier Ryanair Holdings was off 3.3%. "Airline stocks are also under pressure as news unfolds that French pilots may walk out in protest in May over a change in legislation. The strike has the potential to disrupt Air France and easyJet flights to and from France in May and comes at a time when airlines are beginning to feel the pinch of higher oil prices," said City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta. ----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Travis Perkins, up 3.0%. Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised the builders' merchant to Buy from Neutral. ----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------Tekcapital, up 65%. The intellectual property investor said its portfolio company has launched a low-sodium salt under the name MicroSalt. The portfolio company, Salarius, develops and manufactures MicroSalt - salt crystals that are around 100 times smaller than table salt. These smaller grains produce a more powerful flavour, which means less sodium is consumed overall. In addition to the MicroSalt launch, Salarius has "secured its first customer to incorporate MicroSalt in their snack food business". The customer, whose name was not disclosed, is a US snack food maker, and the MicroSalt will be dispatched to it in May. Tekcapital owns a 97.5% stake in Salarius.----------Thomas Cook Group, up 17%. The travel agent's shares were higher after Sky News reported on Saturday that the company is in talks over a possible takeover. Sky said it learned that Thomas Cook has "brought in advisers from AlixPartners to work on its balance sheet and cost reduction plans, while its syndicate of more than a dozen lenders has hired FTI Consulting to advise on their financial exposure to Thomas Cook". 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. According to Sky: "Analysts also cited EQT and KKR, the two private equity firms which own Kuoni Group and Travelopia respectively, as logical bidders for the London-listed travel company".----------