*
Synthomer touches five-month low on subdued annual profits
*
BP climbs after joint buyout deal to buy 50% of NewMed
Energy
*
Miners up as metal prices rise
*
FTSE 100 up 0.2%, FTSE 250 sheds 0.7%
(Updates to market close, adds fresh comments)
By Johann M Cherian and Shashwat Chauhan
March 28 (Reuters) -
Britain's FTSE 100 closed higher on Tuesday, buoyed by commodity-linked stocks, but came off its session high as caution prevailed after the Bank of England (BoE) said it was on alert following recent turmoil in the banking sector. The blue-chip index closed 0.2% higher, after hitting a near one-week high earlier in the day. Bank of England officials
said the central bank was on alert amid global turmoil in the banking sector but added that Britain was not experiencing stress linked to the demise of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse.
"What (Governor) Andrew Bailey has said is that while
banking regulations have been put in place to make sure that the
sector is healthy, perhaps the banking sector has moved on so
much since those regulations were put in place since the
financial crisis that we need to look again," said Danni Hewson,
head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
"It's been a bit of a rude awakening for investors, but these cracks have been appearing and nobody noticed."
Shares of BP hit a two week high, finishing 2.4% up after the oil firm and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) made an offer to jointly acquire 50% of Israeli offshore natural gas producer NewMed Energy for around $2 billion. The broader energy sector gained 1.9% tracking higher oil prices. Miners of precious and base metals also gained 0.8% and 1.8% respectively, tracking strength in metal prices. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index though, fell 0.7% as Synthomer tanked 10.9% after the polymer maker said its annual profits were hit due to subdued demand.
With another week left to wrap up the month, London's
FTSE 100 is on track to eke out marginal gains for the quarter,
but is set to post its worst March performance since 2020 as
concerns about the banking crisis ratcheted up market
volatility.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Shashwat Chauhan in
Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Rashmi Aich and
Giles Elgood)
UK hot stocks: and Wall Street: Gilts report: Euro bond report Pan European stock report: Tokyo stocks: HK stocks: Sterling report: Dollar report:
* For company prices, click on -
* Company directory: By sector:
* For pan-European market data, click on -
* European Equities speed guide................ FTSE Eurotop 300 index........................... DJ STOXX index................................... Top 10 STOXX sectors........................ Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors................... Top 10 Eurotop 300 sectors.................. Top 25 European pct gainers.................... Top 25 European pct losers..................... ))
