Centrica, Europa Oil & Gas and Anglo Asian Mining

“Blue-chips opened on the back foot weighed down by mining stocks with heavyweights Antofagasta, Anglo American, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton occupying the four bottom positions on the board,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“British Gas parent Centrica was one of the FTSE100’s biggest fallers as warmer weather hit its margins although it remains on track to achieve its full-year targets and saw continued progress on its cost efficiency programme. Centrica remains opposed a price cap which is widely expected to be part of the Conservative manifesto. Centrica’s shares were down by more than 1.9% in early trading.

“Europa Oil & Gas was a double-digit riser after an independent report confirmed two significant findings on its licensing option in the Atlantic offshore Ireland. The Ervine and Edgeworth prospects both have unrisked prospective resources above the 200 million barrels of oil equivalent threshold which Europa considers to be the minimum economic field size. Europa’s shares were up by over 10.7%.

“Anglo Asian Mining’s shares rose after it completed phase II core drilling at its Ugur gold deposit on its Gedabek licence in western Azerbaijan. Anglo Asian has made rapid progress at the deposit and is on track to set out an extraction plan in the third quarter, less than a year after the deposit's initial discovery, and to start production in the following quarter. Anglo Asian’s shares were up by more than 1.4%.”

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.