FTSE 100 Competition Results week 9

Week_Nine_Results.pdf

FTSE 100 opened the week at 7,631.74.
FTSE 100 closed the week at 7,741.56. 

The FTSE 100 strengthened slightly during the four days of trading last week. It was lifted by insurers and property developers as new influential figures showed the UK’s construction sector edged up in March, albeit at a slower pace than February. 

The index grazed the 7,700 mark at the start of the week, surging after oil prices pushed shares in the biggest oil companies higher.

Shares in energy giants Shell and BP jumped by more than 4% each, rising to the top of the UK’s top index following a surprise decision over the weekend from Opec+, a cartel of oil-producing countries, to slash production by more than one million barrels a day, leading the price of oil to shoot up.

Shell saw its share price further boosted after it told investors it expected a boost in gas production over the first three months of the year.

There are concerns however that higher oil prices would slow the pace of declining inflation in the UK, which economists expect to fall sharply later this year.

Optimism over the UK economy has been improving in recent weeks, helping to drive the recent gains in sterling.  However, Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, warned the world economy is expected to grow by less than 3% this year, down from 3.4% last year, and remain at that level for the next five years.  She said the slower path of growth would be a “severe blow”.  Nevertheless, the remarks failed to rattle investors and Europe’s top stock exchanges were all in the green when markets closed.

This week’s biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were:-
Admiral Group +9.3%
Haleon +8.9%
GSK plc +6.6%
Endeavour Mining +6.1%
Fresnillo +5.6%
Centrica +5.0%

This week’s biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were:-
Ashtead Group -10.4%
RS Group -8.5%
JD Sports -6.6%
CRH plc -6.6%
Antofagasta -6.4%
Kingfisher -5.9%

The biggest movers in our competition were all in the middle order and did not affect the leaderboard at either end. Midge +9 places, Brian D +8 and Steve McLaren +7 while Jean Spriddle was -10 places,  to a Scooby -9 and Ginny Pie -7.

The top three remain unchanged Mark Grant leads the way but Robbeath in third is the only entrant to have been above £50,000 throughout. It’s the same top ten as last week but now 16 entrants are on positive ground.

At the foot Jennifer Grieve has strengthened her hold over 51st place. There has been a slight shuffle of the six above her but no significant moves here either.

Three more weeks to go, who knows what happens next?