By Simon Kennedy, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Modest gains for oil majors helped
offset some losses for mining stocks in a muted London trading
session Tuesday, with hotel and restaurant operator Whitbread PLC
also falling after a trading update.
The country's benchmark FTSE 100 index fell less than 0.1% to
5,856.70 as European bourses remained in a tight range after six
consecutive winning sessions for the Continent's stock markets.
Shares in heavyweight oil major BP PLC (BP) rose 0.9% and Royal
Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) rose 0.5%.
Credit Suisse on Tuesday lifted its 2011 oil-price target and
raised its earnings forecasts for integrated oil companies, citing
an "astonishing" recovery in global oil demand since late
September.
The broker said BP is its long-term top pick, as it believes the
market is too pessimistic about the eventual costs of the Macondo
oil spill.
Smaller exploration and production group JKX Oil & Gas PLC
rose 1.9% after the initial tests on a Ukraine well exceeded the
firm's expectations.
Mining stocks were mostly lower, with Rio Tinto PLC (RIO)
dropping 1.1% and Lonmin PLC down 1%.
Xstrata PLC bucked the trend, rising 0.6% after UBS upgraded the
company to buy from neutral.
Also on the downside, shares in hotel and restaurant group
Whitbread dropped 2.9% after a trading update. The group reported a
31% jump in sales at its Costa Coffee chain, but a more muted 1.3%
rise across its restaurants.
Among smaller companies, Carpetright PLC dropped 3% after the
flooring retailer reported a 28% drop in underlying six-month
profit.