FTSE heads North as Rita heads for the South

It is actually the oil firms such as Royal Dutch Shell – which closed up 0.9% to £18.53 - which have driven trading as a higher oil price means potentially higher profits, and helped the FTSE 100 index to finish the day 16 points or 0.3% up at 5385.7. Cairn Energy also rose 33p or 1.7% to £20.18 as an analyst has raised share price expectations from £22.40 to £24.00 a share, given its position in oil exploration. With the current oil spot price for November delivery rising a further 2% to $68.14 a barrel, British Airways fell 5.25p or 1.8% by the end of the day to 283.5p as a higher o...