UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Dave Morris

But oil majors drop, weighing on the index

Airlines jumped on Monday, driven by potential savings on fuel costs as oil prices continued to fall after jawboning by U.S. President Donald Trump last week.

How did markets perform?

In the U.K., the FTSE 100 was flat following Friday's decline of nearly 0.1%.

The pound inched up to $1.2914 after climbing 0.2% Friday.

Oil prices continued to fall after comments Friday by President Trump to reporters and on twitter that he had told major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia to increase their output (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-falls-after-trump-presses-opec-to-make-up-for-iranian-sanctions-idUSKCN1S5010). The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark was down 0.2% while Brent fell 0.3% .

What's moving the markets?

Oil prices continued to fall after comments Friday by President Trump to reporters and on Twitter that he had told major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia to increase their output (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-falls-after-trump-presses-opec-to-make-up-for-iranian-sanctions-idUSKCN1S5010). The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark was down 0.2% while Brent fell 0.3% .

China kicked off a busy week of economic developments Saturday with news that recovery in key sectors had sparked a 13.9% year over year increase in industrial profits in March. The rebound, reported by the National Bureau of Statistics, was significant coming after a slump in that figure in January and February. London's mining stocks are sensitive to economic developments in China because the country is a big user of natural resources.

This week's economic reports will include both a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday and the Bank of England on Thursday.

Which stocks are active?

Airlines were the main beneficiaries of the fall in oil prices, which are expected to pass through cheaper fuel costs to them. EasyJet Plc (EZJ.LN) was up 2.3% and TUI AG climbed 1.8%. Oil major BP PLC (BP.LN) (BP.LN) fell 0.5%

British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG.LN) was 2.6% higher after an upgrade by UBS from neutral to buy, with a price target of 705 pence. The company reports earnings May 10.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2019 07:48 ET (11:48 GMT)

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