FTSE edges up following oil sector drag

London’s leading share index edged higher in early morning trading, after disappointing results from Royal Dutch Shell yesterday dragged the FTSE down to close below 6,000.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.23% at 5,997.20 this morning, recovering from a 0.28% drop to 5,983.34 at close.

Morrison Supermarkets was the top performer this morning, rising 2.65%, followed by Severn Trent up 2.37%, United Utilities Group up 2.16%, Fresnillo up 1.98% and ARM Holdings up 1.83%.

TUI Travel dropped 1.36% on the back of the Egypt crisis, followed by Cairn Energy, down 1.21%. Royal Dutch Shell shares fell 1.11%, despite the energy giant's profits almost doubling this year. AstraZeneca fell by 0.89%.

In Europe, Germany's Dax rose 0.17% to 7,206.12, while France's Cac 40 increased 0.34% to 4,050.42.

Although Egypt concerns dragged US shares down during the day, the Dow Jones closed up 20.29 points at 12,062.26, while the S&P 500 rose three points to 1,307.1.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 closed at a two-week high, up 1.1% 10,543.52, boosted by a planned merger of two steel firms and robust corporate profits.