Monday Morning Markets: FTSE Subdued as Oil Jumps; Vodafone, PageGroup Rally

London’s blue-chip index was flat in early trading on Monday, while the FTSE 250 has slipped 0.2%. On the continent, Germany’s DAX has added 0.1%, with France’s CAC 40 and the Euro Stoxx 50 also trading flat.

Energy dominated the open. Brent crude for September delivery had risen more than 4% at one stage after U.S. Central Command said it had carried out dozens of strikes on Iran to degrade its ability to attack vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

The benchmark was last up 2.8% at $78.16. BP (LON: BP.) and Shell (LON: SHEL) climbed on the move. Gold, meanwhile, fell to $4,074 an ounce as the dollar firmed and Treasury yields rose, with traders weighing the risk that costlier energy keeps inflation and rates higher for longer.

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Vodafone (LON: VOD) leads the FTSE 100, up 3.81%, extending Friday’s rally after e& agreed to sell its entire stake to Vega, the vehicle owned by French billionaire Xavier Niel.

Persimmon (LON: PSN) has gained 3.38% and Barratt Redrow (LON: BTRW) has risen 2.60%.

IAG (LON: IAG) fell 2.04% as the potential for higher fuel costs weighed, while Polar Capital Technology Trust (LON: PCT) is down 1.91%, and IG Group (LON: IGG) is off 1.77%.

Midcaps saw sharper moves. ME Group (LON:MEGP) jumped 12.96% on interim results, and PageGroup (LON:PAGE) rose 11.13% after second-quarter gross profit fell just 0.2% in constant currency, versus a 4.9% first-quarter decline, with full-year operating profit guidance held at £28 million.

Hays (LON: HAS) rallied 5.87% in sympathy.

Meanwhile, Plus500 (LON: PLUS) has slumped more than 13%. Record first-half revenue of $462.9 million was overshadowed by a second-quarter margin miss, with analysts at Cavendish highlighting churn of 33% and a 16.8% quarterly drop in active customers.

Oxford Nanopore (LON: ONT) fell 12.05% on its half-year update, with Pacific Horizon (LON: PHI) down 4.63%.