Market report: Monday close

FIVE major oil companies report third-quarter numbers this week and between them they are expected to generate profits of almost £11bn on the back of record oil prices.

Exxon Mobil, Chevron Texaco and ConocoPhillips, all from the US, are due to unveil figures along with our own BP and Royal Dutch/Shell. Between them, they produced profits of $19.6bn (£10.7bn) during the second quarter.

Their results are expected to have been flattered by higher crude prices, which were again at new highs on world markets today, buoyed by continuing demand from the fast-expanding Chinese economy. The price of a barrel of Texas light crude was changing hands on the futures market at a peak of $55.67 with North Sea Brent standing at $51.90.

BP, down 4 1/2p at 537 1/2p, is expected to kick off the results tomorrow with profits of about £2.3bn pencilled in by brokers. Production is running at record levels boosted by its joint venture with TNK in Russia. The company will have generated large amounts of cash, much of which will be returned to shareholders in the shape of dividends and share buybacks.

Even Shell, 5p cheaper at 414 1/4p, which continues to reel from this year's huge write-offs of proven oil reserves, will have benefited from the higher prices when it reports on Thursday. Net income is expected to be 50% higher at $4.3bn (£2.3bn).

Share prices generally had that Monday feel to them. Heavy losses in the Far East today saw Tokyo's Nikkei 225 tumble almost 200 points in the wake of the earthquake that rocked the country. A strong yen is also making life difficult for Japan's big exporters. The Dow extended Friday's heavy losses in New York this afternoon.

In London, the FTSE 100 index dived back below 4600, down 50.9 at 4564.5. Turnover was swollen to 1.3bn shares by midday following the buyback in Marks & Spencer shares. The tender offer for 635.3m shares, or almost 28% of issued capital, was pitched at 362p, just above the middle of the quoted range. US investment bank JP Morgan has downgraded M&S, 1 1/2p higher at 358 1/2p, from overweight to neutral with a fair value price of 400p.

Manchester United dipped 6p to 277p after saying it would reject any offer from 28% shareholder Malcolm Glazer that so far had been outlined to it.

Drinks supplier Diageo retreated 8p to 716 1/2p after a line of 11m shares went through at 718p. Broker UBS downgraded the shares from buy to neutral and slashed its target price from 865p to 800p in the wake of last week's trading update. Allied Domecq firmed 1/2p to 479p. Broker Credit Suisse First Boston has downgraded from neutral to underperform and blames a slowdown in growth in the US.

Discount airline easyJet dipped 5p to 147p. Rival Icelandair said on Friday it had built an 8.4% stake. Fire alarms outfit Kidde, which last week rejected a 160p-ashare offer from United Technologies Corporation in the US, drifted 1p to 169p. UTC is to talk to Kidde's major shareholders.

Picture-booths operator Photo-Me fell 4p to 102p after a seller unloaded five million shares at 103p.

A big seller continues to depress merchant bank Singer & Friedlander, down 22 1/4p at 279p. Icelandic bank Kaupthing Bunadarbanki still holds almost 22% of the shares but has shown no sign of bidding for the rest.