Shell rises as commodities liven up

Shell was among those making share gains on the FTSE 100 Index yesterday in a buoyant session for commodity stocks.

The market was also given a boost by positive profit figures from companies including telecoms giant Motorola, as well as better-than-expected US unemployment data.

The Footsie closed 31.87 points higher at 5,677.89, although markets on both sides of the Atlantic have had a mixed week amid speculation over the scale of possible money supply boosting measures by the US Federal Reserve next week.

Today's third quarter GDP growth figures for the US are likely to fuel further debate over the scale of quantitative easing (QE) required to aid recovery.

Will Hedden, sales trader at IG Index, said: "Investors worldwide will be on the lookout for US GDP figures to show direction ahead of next week's all important US interest rate setting committee meeting."

The dollar fell back against the pound and the euro after yesterday's gains on market talk that QE in the US may be smaller than hoped. Sterling rose to nearly $1.60.

Ireland's economic woes continued when the interest rate on the country's national debt reached a new euro-era high as investors sold off Irish bonds on scepticism that the nation can meet a European Union deadline for reversing its deficits.

The bond spike came as the board of nationalised Anglo-Irish Bank got a rebuff from some bondholders who rejected proposals to take a haircut on subordinated debt, plans which it is estimated might save the bank an €1.65 billion if accepted.

Among stocks in London, Shell shares rose 9p to 1,962p after higher oil prices and a 5 per cent rise in production meant profits lifted 18 per cent to $3.5 billion (2.2bn) for the three months to 30 September.

BP was also higher with a gain of 4p to 423p, while elsewhere in the resources sector BHP Billiton added 57.5p to 2,221p.

Other leading risers included mobile phone group Vodafone, which added 4.4p to 170.7p after third quarter figures posted by France Telecom showed improving mobile revenues trends.

The biggest fall came from Glasgow-based power supplier Aggreko, which fell more than 4 per cent or 70p to 1,592p, even though the firm lifted its full-year profits guidance.

It was joined on the way down by pharmaceuticals firm AstraZeneca, after analysts at Collins Stewart said third quarter figures were weak, with US trading particularly under pressure. Shares dropped 106p to 3,139.5p.

In the FTSE 250, Hovis-to-Mr Kipling firm Premier Foods posted one of the biggest falls of the session after it said sales were down by 4.2 per cent to 606 million in the three months to the end of September, a period which it described as the most difficult since 2007.Shares fell 0.8p to 18p, a drop of 4 per cent.

Outsourcing firm Mouchel, which develops infrastructure for councils, saw its shares slump by nearly a third - off 38p to 88p - after it scrapped its dividend and reported a sizeable full-year loss.

On a brighter note, UK Coal shares were 1.25p higher at 34p after output from its three deep mines was up more than 40 per cent on a year ago at 1.7 million tonnes in the third quarter.