Oil Shares lead market upturn
London, Feb.23 - share prices closed higher in moderate trading yesterday although the uptrend faded shortly after the opening.
After a brief bullish trend, prices lost their buoyancy as profit takers became more active. But the bears proved shy and no great selling pressure developed for the rest of the day, enabling the market to hold onto its early gains.
The Financial Times stock index closed at 2133.2 rallying 4.5 points after Wednesday’s losses.
Oil stocks led the early surge with British Petroleum gaining 23 to 1,134.
One leading broker said he is advising his clients the market is likely to remain steady over the next few months with no repetition of the dramatic early year price rises.
All the leading indicators show a period of stock market stability as the recovery of the past 18 months slows down, the broker said.
Not a good time for speculators, but the broker said investors with a well-chosen portfolios should net respected to continue through the next two quarters.