London could not make up its mind over the oil price with no lead from the US, where bond and equity markets were closed for Martin Luther King day.
A rollercoaster day saw the FTSE 100 index open higher but head lower 24 to 5,779.
Footsie is now around a three-year low but was in no mood to pick itself up from the floor without the US as a guide and with so much uncertainty over oil prices.
Crude dipped below US$30 per barrel again as Iran production came back on stream with predictions for it to head lower towards $20/barrel.
Even so, BP (LON;BP.) edged up 0.7% to 340.5p, while Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSB) shed 1% to 1,337.5p.
Other risers today included contract caterer Compass (LON:CPG) up 2% to 1,143p, pharma group Shire (LON:SHP) 71p better at 4,250p and recent bid chatter favourite Imperial Tobacco (LON:IMT), which gained 53.5p to 3,568p. Rival BATS (LON:BATS) is mentioned as a possible suitor.
Fallers included Next (LON:NXT) down 95p at 6,645p and there was some profit taking in housebuilding after last week’s.
Profit taking hit JD Sports (LON:JD.), 55p lower at 1,078p, after last week’s strong trading update, while news of a management change at the top lifted Amec Foster Wheeler (LON:AMFW) 2% to 396.7p.
Samir Brikho is to leave as chief executive after more than nine years in the job.
In the past year, however, the slide in the oil price and subsequent impact on oilcompany spending has seen the shares halve.
The acquisition by AMEC of Foster Wheeler has also looked ill-timed with hindsight.
Small caps saw some notable movers.
Empyrean Energy (LON:EME) jumped 47.5% to 7.38p as it pulled off the notable achievement in the current oil environment of selling a small stake in the Eagle Ford shale field in Texas for £50mln.
The cash will pay off debts, other liabilities and leave it debt free to mull acquisitions of more distressed US-based rivals.
AIM-listed Active Energy Group’s (LON:AEG) WoodFibre arm, based in Ukraine, has landed two “significant” supply contracts expected to generate revenues of US$50mln this year. Shares rose 9% to 5.58p.
Fuel cell specialist Ceres Power (LON:CWR) rose 425% to 6.14p after it deepened its relationship with Japanese car powerhouse Honda.
A move in to energy also gave Bushveld Minerals (LON:BMN) a 16% leg-up to 3.2p. The group will look to develop vanadium batteries.
Altona Energy (LON:ANR) fell 21% to 0.55p after a delay of around three weeks in money from Sinoa-Aus, which recently participated in a share subscription.