Headline shares made solid gains in midday trade as strength in oil majors offset weakness in insurers, with BP (LON:BP.) making welcome progress after reporting limited success in its oil clean-up operation. At high noon, the FTSE 100 was up 52.34 points at 5,315.19 with the FTSE250 ahead 2 points at 10,024.9 and the FTSE Smallcaps 8.98 points lower at 2,863.47. US stock futures were narrowly mixed as European sovereign debt concerns continued to plague the markets. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures fell 6 points, S&P500 futures edged up slightly to 1,135.4 and Nasdaq 100 futures added a point at 1,910.7.

LONDON MARKETS

The FTSE confounded the doomsayers in morning trade with solid gains from some unexpected quarters. A resurgence in oil stocks and Asia-facing banks offset falls in fund managers and insurer Prudential (LON:PRU) which today announced the launch of its £14.5bn rights issue. BP (LON:BP.) led the oil majors higher on news of some success in its battle to stem the flow of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. BP (LON:BP.) shares climbed 10.2p at 540.4p, while Shell added 12.5p at 1,792p and BG Group (LON:BG.) gained 11.5p at 1,039.5p in sympathy. The price of crude settled at $71.76 a barrel, off recent lows.

Cigarette manufacturers were in demand for their defensive qualities, with BAT up 12.5p at 2,045.5p and Imperial Tobacco Group (LON:IMT) ahead 6p at 1,830p. Drinks firms also improved on hopes the upcoming World Cup will give them a boost, with Diageo (LON:DGE) gaining 11p at 1,101p and Sabmiller (LON:SAB) 29p higher at 2,023p.

Miners put in positive performance on hopes that recovery will stimulate demand, although Randgold Resources (LON:RRS) remained the best of the bunch, up 240p at 6,250p, as gold remained close to $1,235 an ounce, seen as an antidote to the European currency crisis. Platinum miner Lonmin (LON:LMI) jumped 71p at 1,764p, silver miner Fresnillo (LON:FRES) gained 17.5p at 904.5p and Anglo American (LON:AAL) added 69.5p at 2,673p.

The banking sector recovered from a mixed start, with Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) topping the leaderboard at midday, up 79p at 1,701p and HSBC ahead 12.2p at 659.7p, while Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) sank ticked up 1.05p at 58.73p, Royal Bank Of Scotland Group Plc (LON:RBS) edged ahead 0.11p at 47.37p and Barclays…

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