LONDON (ShareCast) - Weak banks and sagging real estate plays failed to ruin the party Monday as rising crude prices gave oil majors a boost and cheery broker notes buoyed others.

BP, Shell, Tullow Oil, Cairn Energy and BG all shot ahead as oil prices rallied back above $137 a barrel on reports that emergency talks to address near-record prices broke up in disarray, while more disruption in Nigeria threatens to overwhelm a Saudi pledge to pump more oil.

But British Airways suffered turbulence and cruises group Carnival headed in the wrong direction on fears about sky-high fuel costs.

Drug group Shire got a shot in the arm from a Goldman Sachs upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’, with price target kept at 1,015p. The broker says the market is overly focused on Vyvanse at expense of the company’s wider portfolio.

Compass pointed higher after SocGen began coverage on the catering firm with a ‘buy’ rating and a 414p price target, saying it is well-placed to cope with inflation. SABMiller was also fizzing amid reports that it is to buy a German brewer to lift its market share in the country.

HBOS has fallen below the 275p rights price for its £4bn cash call. New York based hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners has owned up to taking a short position of 3.29%, sending shares in the Halifax owner sharply lower Monday.

Lloyds TSB has also suffered on talk at the weekend that it wants to buy Dresdner Bank, which has been put on the market by Allianz, the German insurance group, for an estimated £6bn. Barclays and Alliance & Leicester are also nursing losses as sentiment towards the sector fails to improve.

Property giant Land Securities was worst of the blue chips following a downgrade to 'underweight' from 'neutral' at HSBC, taking British Land and Liberty International with it.

A new survey from Rightmove has revealed that sellers are having to get real and cut asking prices as soaring mortgage costs and rising food, fuel and energy bills leave buyers unable to afford record house prices. Average asking prices have fallen 1.2% to £239,564 this month, the first time the property website has measured a fall in June.

Elsewhere, US firm Halliburton has ended bid talks with Expro and no longer intends to make an offer after the oilfield services group backed a rival offer from a consortium led by Candover worth 10p per share less. Expro replied that Halliburton's offer was inadequate given the delays and risks associated with the deal.

Power generator supplier Aggreko is the 350's best performer. It says trading has been strong in the first half, and it expects revenues will grow by about 25% (22% in constant currency) and profit before tax will be about 40% higher than the prior year. Profits for the full year are also likely to be above current market expectations.

Pump maker Weir forecasts full-year underlying profit will be at the upper end of market estimates. Its performance in the first 22 weeks to May 30 had continued to benefit from strong market conditions, it said in a trading update.

Department store Debenhams was down again on concerns about trading. The share price saw heavy falls on Friday.

Shareholders in troubled SCS Upholstery have seemingly lost their money as it suspended its shares despite a bid approach for the sofa manufacturer. The company says the plans could see very little left for shareholders.

Harsher trading conditions have prompted software and consulting services provider Christie Group to batten down the hatches and to seek a strategic partner for its software division. It lost a third of its value Monday.


FTSE 100 - Risers
Invensys (ISYS) 298.25p +6.04%
Shire Ltd (SHP) 842.50p +5.71%
Thomson Reuters (TRIL) 1,433.00p +3.69%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 985.00p +3.36%
Compass Group (CPG) 369.50p +3.14%
Capita Group (CPI) 712.50p +3.11%
SABMiller (SAB) 1,159.00p +3.11%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 2,157.00p +3.11%
Reed Elsevier (REL) 590.00p +2.70%
National Grid (NG.) 690.00p +2.60%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,275.00p -4.78%
HBOS (HBOS) 270.25p -4.25%
Old Mutual (OML) 100.10p -3.56%
Wolseley (WOS) 430.50p -3.37%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 645.00p -3.01%
British Airways (BAY) 212.25p -2.97%
Barclays (BARC) 299.75p -2.76%
British Land Co (BLND) 745.00p -2.74%
Enterprise Inns (ETI) 394.75p -2.71%
Lloyds TSB Group (LLOY) 318.75p -2.67%

FTSE 250 - Risers
Aggreko (AGK) 709.00p +10.01%
Hunting (HTG) 850.50p +6.11%
Cattles (CTT) 145.25p +6.02%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 392.50p +4.88%
Premier Oil (PMO) 1,589.00p +4.47%
Soco International (SIA) 2,015.00p +4.40%
Melrose Resources (MRS) 410.50p +4.19%
Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) 341.00p +4.04%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 108.50p +3.83%
WSP Group (WSH) 574.50p +3.70%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Quintain Estates & Development (QED) 227.25p -9.10%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 64.75p -7.17%
Punch Taverns (PUB) 338.00p -6.95%
Bellway (BWY) 492.00p -6.11%
Yell Group (YELL) 81.00p -6.09%
Aquarius Platinum (AQP) 817.00p -5.22%
Michael Page International (MPI) 238.75p -5.07%
Speedy Hire (SDY) 572.00p -4.98%
Workspace Group (WKP) 150.00p -4.76%
SEGRO (SGRO) 376.25p -4.75%

• News Channel