LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 index was down 0.14% at 19,863.81 in afternoon trade on Tuesday, as oil companies led the benchmark index higher on the back of a jump in the price of black gold.
Oilers Premier Oil, Cairn Energy and Tullow Oil were all on the way up, along with oilfield services providers Wood Group and Petrofac, after oil prices hit fresh highs as the Trump administration removed sanction waivers on Iranian imports.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "The US seems determined to ramp up the pressure on Iran for now. This may be partly in the view that Saudi Arabia and America itself can fill the gap left by the sanctions on Iran and stop oil prices from galloping too much above the $70 a barrel mark, using Brent crude as a benchmark, but for the moment American foreign policy is providing strong support to oil.

"Those investors who think further pressure on Iranian exports, coupled with careful production control from Saudi Arabia (as well as leading non-OPEC members such as Russia) and a benign global economic outlook, will provide sustained gains in the price of oil, there are plenty of ways to get involved, albeit with varying degrees of risk profile," Mould added.

At the other end of the leaderboard, Funding Circle dropped back down after rising at the end of last week on the back of a record level of loans under management during the first quarter, with The Times reporting over the Easter weekend that the peer-to-peer lending business is facing increased pressure from contemporaries such as Japanese giant, SoftBank.

Meanwhile Acacia Mining was lower ahead of the release of a trading statement later this week and Intu Properties also settled down after climbing on the back of the establishment of a joint-venture with Cale Street Investments for the development of its Derby shopping centre.

Finally, budget airline Wizz Air saw its share price fly lower as investors winced at the spike in the cost of oil.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,863.81 0.14%


FTSE 250 - Risers

Premier Oil (PMO) 107.05p 5.47%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 174.21p 5.14%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 529.60p 4.87%
Indivior (INDV) 42.71p 4.17%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 4,038.26p 3.70%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 483.20p 3.38%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 350.50p 2.91%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 248.70p 2.77%
Card Factory (CARD) 205.40p 2.70%
Hays (HAS) 151.78p 2.55%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 307.50p -5.67%
Kier Group (KIE) 340.36p -4.82%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 155.20p -4.43%
Intu Properties (INTU) 97.54p -4.09%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 257.00p -3.75%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,369.00p -2.85%
Amigo Holdings (AMGO) 250.00p -2.72%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,266.00p -2.62%
Charter Court Financial Services Group (CCFS) 358.50p -2.58%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 145.75p -2.51%

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