U.K. Stocks Climb on Lower Oil; British Airways, Carnival Gain

By Adam Haigh

Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. stocks rose, extending the FTSE 100 Index's third straight weekly gain, as lower oil prices boosted the earnings outlook for travel and leisure companies.

British Airways Plc climbed the most in a week, while Carnival Plc advanced for a second day as crude headed for its second consecutive weekly decline.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index advanced 17.90, or 0.3 percent, to 5,515.30 at 8:37 a.m. in London, bringing its increase this week to 0.5 percent. The FTSE All-Share Index rose 0.3 percent and Ireland's ISEQ Index climbed 1.2 percent.

``If oil prices continue to soften, then further gains may be within reach,'' said Paul Webb, chief dealer at CMC Markets in London.

British Airways, Europe's third largest airline, rose for the first time in four days, adding 3 percent to 261.25 pence. Carnival, world's largest cruise-line company, gained 2.2 percent to 1,960 pence.

Oil fell today after the dollar strengthened and Europe's economy contracted, spurring speculation the slowdown in fuel consumption will spread beyond the U.S. Crude for September delivery dropped as much as 1.4 percent to $113.36 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Michael Page International Plc slid 1.9 percent to 328.75 pence after the U.K.'s second-largest recruitment company said it rejected a 1.3 billion-pound ($2.4 billion) proposed takeover from Adecco SA and ended talks.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in London at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net