London’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.7 per cent at 6,242 in early deals. Rolls-Royce and Travis Perkins were both trading in the red after poorly-received trading updates, but oil and gas stocks were leading the upside as Brent crude prices bounced off a four-year low.

The FTSE 100 finished just 0.3 per cent lower at 6,195.91 on Thursday, having wiped out most of its earlier losses which sent it to an intraday low of 6,072.68 earlier in the session – a level not seen since June 2013.

Friday’s positive start follows a “strong reversal of sentiment in the US”, according to dealer Jonathan Sudaria from Capital Spreads, after Wall Street indices managed to finish flat despite a weak start.

Comments from Federal Reserve official James Bullard had prompted a turnaround on the markets Stateside after he suggested that policymakers could delay the end of their bond-buying programme following a recent drop in inflation expectations.

“The suggestion of further financial first aid were welcome words for the bruised and battered markets, particularly from one of the Feds most hawkish members,” Sudaria said.

The focus also was on monetary policy here in the Britain after the Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane said he was “gloomier” on the UK’s economic outlook and that interest rates will likely remain at their record-low level of 0.5 per cent for a little while longer. The comments came after UK inflation dropped to a five-year low of 1.2 per cent in September, according to data out earlier this week.

Rolls-Royce and Travis Perkins fall, oil stocks rise

Power systems giant Rolls-Royce saw shares fall 8 per cent after saying it now expects underlying sales to fall 3.5-4 per cent this year on the back of worsening trading conditions, compared with its previous forecast for flat revenues. It also warned that growth might not return in 2015, as previously expected, with underlying revenue guidance for next year now at +/-3 per cent.

UK building merchant Travis Perkins was also trading lower after reporting that like-for-like sales continued to slow in the third quarter as it saw a “very challenging” plumbing and heating market.

Oil and gas peers Tullow, BP, Shell, Afren, Enquest and Premier Oil were all making gains, rebounding after being hammered by a drop in oil prices the previous session.

Oilfield services group Petrofac was also in positive territory after saying it is on track to hit profit targets this year, as its backlog improved over the third quarter and net debt reduced.

FTSE 100 – Risers

Tullow Oil (TLW) 501.50p +3.64%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 897.00p +2.99%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,017.00p +2.99%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 932.50p +2.92%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 591.50p +2.87%
Royal Mail (RMG) 423.60p +2.67%
Aviva (AV.) 488.50p +2.60%
Royal Dutch Shell ‘A’ (RDSA) 2,117.50p +2.49%
IMI (IMI) 1,195.00p +2.40%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,206.00p +2.37%

FTSE 100 – Fallers

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 864.50p -8.08%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,320.00p -1.37%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,616.00p -1.28%
Fresnillo (FRES) 808.00p -0.86%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,188.50p -0.86%
Diageo (DGE) 1,703.00p -0.79%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 263.10p -0.49%
Tesco (TSCO) 171.55p -0.26%
Pearson (PSON) 1,130.00p -0.18%
SABMiller (SAB) 3,152.00p -0.13%

Source: ShareCast