MARKET REPORT: Shell shares hit a record high amid conflict fears

Shell shares hit a record high as oil prices held firm above $90 amid conflict in the Middle East.

Britain’s most valuable company rose 1.1 per cent, or 28.5p, to 2,750.5p, meaning it is now worth £183bn.

The FTSE 100 giant’s gains came as the price of oil stabilized above $90 a barrel following a 7.5 per cent rise last week.

Victoria Scholar, chief investment officer at Interactive Investor, said: “The war between Israel and Hamas caused oil prices to rise sharply last week, in a move that could derail inflation’s path toward more normal levels.”

Oil demand plummeted during the pandemic as governments around the world imposed travel restrictions.

This caused Shell’s share price to hit an all-time low of 900 pence at the end of October 2020.

Since then, the stock has tripled in value, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine drove up oil and gas prices.

It is now worth more than Astrazeneca (down 0.02 per cent, or 2p, to 10,972p), which is second in the FTSE 100 with a value of £170bn, and HSBC (0.2 per cent , or 1.3 pence, up to 651.3 pence). ) in third place with around £130 billion.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.4 per cent, or 31.03 points, to 7,630.63 and the FTSE 250 added 0.4 per cent, or 65.17 points, to 17,519.39.

It was another volatile day for Energean, the mid-cap oil and gas company listed in both London and Tel Aviv.

The company has seen its stock swing since the attacks on Israel. They rose 6.8 per cent, or 57.5p, to 907.5p yesterday.

Ocado was the biggest faller on the blue-chip index following a gloomy note from Barclays, which warned the online supermarket was likely to miss its own medium-term forecasts.

Following discussions with several industry experts and its own analysis, the broker concluded that potential implementation delays and limited free cash flow posed a threat to the blue-chip company.

He also highlighted increased competition from companies such as Autostore, a Norwegian company with which Ocado was embroiled in a legal battle.

As a result, Barclays downgraded the stock to “underweight” from “equal weight” and cut the price target to 430p from 680p. The shares sank 5.8 per cent, or 30.8 pence, to 500 pence.

There was some respite for St James’s Place, with the shares rising 5 per cent, or 32p, to 672.2p.

The stock fell to its lowest level in ten years on Friday as bosses at Britain’s biggest wealth manager confirmed they were considering revamping its lucrative fee structure.

GSK hopes EU regulators will approve its drug dostarlimab to treat women with severe endometrial cancer, a disease that affects the uterus.

The pharmaceutical giant said a committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended the drug and a final decision is expected by the end of the year. But shares fell 1.1 per cent, or 16.8 pence, to 1,493.2 pence.

ITM Power soared 3.3 per cent, or 2.26 pence, to 71.5 pence, as the green energy company set its sights on entering the United States, which it said could become one of the most great for electrolyzers.

Tristel boss Paul Swinney said the outlook for the disinfectant company is the strongest in its 30-year history ahead of its entry into North America next year. The shares rose 4.4 per cent, or 17.5p, to 412.5p.

But Audioboom headed in the other direction, falling 15.3 per cent, or 27.5p, to 152.5p following a drop in revenue in the nine months to September 30 amid a weak advertising market .

Safestay has bought a freehold property, which used to be a hostel, in Edinburgh city center for £4.3 million.

The hostel chain hopes to reopen the site before summer next year. Safestay sold a hostel in the city for £16 million in 2021.

The shares rose 2 per cent, or 0.5p, to 25p.