The UK government granted approval for the development of the country's largest untapped oil field, Rosebank, on Wednesday. The decision marks a significant endorsement of continued investment in fossil fuels. Equinor and Ithaca Energy will invest around £3bn (£1 = $1.21) in the project, which is expected to produce 300 million barrels of oil throughout its lifetime.
Following the announcement, Ithaca's shares on the FTSE 250 rose more than eight percent after the opening bell. The Rosebank field, located approximately 80 miles west of the Shetland Islands, is set to be developed by Norwegian state energy company Equinor.
Meanwhile, London’s FTSE 100 index started flat on Wednesday morning. The capital’s premier bluechip index floated between being in the red and green, while the FTSE 250, which is more aligned with the UK domestic market, fell further. By 9 am local time, it was up by a marginal 0.03 percent.
Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets (LON:CMCX), attributed the subdued start to European markets having a tough day on Tuesday and a slight pullback in US markets. He noted that both French and German benchmarks fell below their respective 200-day SMAs earlier in the week. US markets also slipped back with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 closing at their lowest levels since early June.
The pound continued its slide against the dollar, sitting at $1.214, having fallen to a six-month low. This marks a decrease of 3.45 percent since the start of September when it was around $1.2580.
Other notable market movements included British Gas owner Centrica (OTC:CPYYY) falling more than five percent on the FTSE 100 after receiving a rare sell recommendation from city analysts on Tuesday. On a positive note, Flutter, the owner of Betfair and Paddy Power, announced its acquisition of a 51 percent stake in Serbia’s MaxBet for €141m (£123m), which led to a marginal increase in its share price.
In other news, cinema group Everyman reported a pre-tax loss of £4.3 million in the first half of the year, attributing boosted sales to the recent Oppenheimer phenomenon.
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