Share deal approval boosts Faroe

FAROE Petroleum, the AIM-listed oil and gas explorer, rose after it won approval from shareholders to place another 30 million shares.

The Aberdeen-based firm said it had raised around 45 million before expenses for further exploration. Shares bubbled up 3.5p to 164.5p.

Oil and gas stocks headed north on strong global oil prices, with fellow Aberdeen-based company Dana Petroleum rising 2.7 per cent to 1,397p while Venture Production added 2.5 per cent to 789p.

Aggreko, the Glasgow-based temporary power supplier, continued its rise following a bullish trading statement earlier this month. Its shares sparked up 2.5 per cent last night to 536p.

Cairn Energy led the FTSE-100 after its return to the top index, while transport company FirstGroup, which also joined the index this week, rose 9p to 809p.

On AIM, digital CCTV company IndigoVision rose 1.5 per cent to 842.5p after announcing on Christmas Eve that US hedge fund Archon Capital Management had increased its stake beyond 5 per cent.

Dairy company Robert Wiseman lost some of its recent gains to close down 4.3 per cent on 515p, while retina scanning company Optos continued its slide, down 3p to 124p, a low since it floated in early 2006.