LONDON (ShareCast) - Shell registered losses as the price of Brent crude dropped to its lowest in five years. Brent touched a low of $66.77 on Monday, its worst intraday level since October 2009. Morgan Stanley lowered its forecast for the average price of Brent oil in 2015 to $70 from $98, expecting it to trough in the second quarter at $57.
Tullow Oil, among other oil and gas stocks, registered losses as the price of Brent crude dropped to its lowest in five years. Brent touched a low of $67.35 a barrel on Monday morning, a level not seen since October 2009. Morgan Stanley lowered its forecast for the average price of Brent oil in 2015 to $70 from $98, expecting it to trough in the second quarter, at $57.
Marks and Spencer Group plummeted after problems with the firm's delivery service, where customers were warned that Christmas orders could take up to two weeks to arrive. The delay follows a backlog of Black Friday orders, which have also caused the next day delivery service to be suspended.
Analysts at JP Morgan and Canaccord today both cut their price targets on shares of BHP Billiton, with the former doing so to 1,870p from 2,050p beforehand.
Hotels operator Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) caused its shares to drop with the news it has accepted a €330m (£261m) offer for its Le Grand building in Paris. The company, which said it will use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, will retain a 30-year management contract of the hotel, with 10-year extension rights at IHG's discretion, giving an expected contract length of 60 years.
Hargreaves Lansdown dropped following the departure its chief financial officer on Friday, with brokerage Liberum issuing a "sell" note on the company on Monday.
Precious metal producer Randgold Resources saw shares rocket as gold and silver prices advanced. The company was also boosted by Deutsche Bank, which lifted its ratings on the stocks to 'buy', saying that the recent plunge in oil prices and weaker currencies should help the company to lower costs. The broker added that free cash flow growth should accelerate over the next 12 months.
FTSE 100 - Risers
ARM Holdings (ARM) 963.50p +1.80%
Bunzl (BNZL) 1,832.00p +0.99%
TUI Travel (TT.) 453.80p +0.84%
ITV (ITV) 214.60p +0.66%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,286.00p +0.63%
Friends Life Group Limited (FLG) 382.20p +0.45%
Aviva (AV.) 508.00p +0.40%
Carnival (CCL) 2,816.00p +0.39%
Experian (EXPN) 1,059.00p +0.38%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 292.80p +0.38%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,746.00p -5.01%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,703.00p -3.29%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 483.90p -2.62%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,179.00p -2.31%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 968.50p -2.27%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,102.00p -2.19%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,442.00p -2.17%
SABMiller (SAB) 3,349.00p -2.13%
CRH (CRH) 1,547.00p -2.03%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,122.00p -2.01%
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