Market report: Tuesday close

IT was easy to attribute oil explorer

Under the fortuitous cover of the $60 barrel, those in the know had the perfect opportunity to fill their own barrels. Soco today leapt 34½p to 605p after revealing that a crucial test-drilling by 60-owned consortium Comeco had proved successful and was capable of pumping 7300 barrels a day, significantly boosting Soco's reserves.

The East Shabwa development in Yemen is Soco's only working oilfield - its interests in Vietnam are still at the exploratory stage. A spokesman for the company today insisted that a leak was virtually impossible as the decision to release the drilling findings hadn't been taken until late yesterday afternoon. He attributed the fact that some 280,000 shares were traded yesterday, 63% more than last Friday to excitement generated by the recent AGM.

Paladin, 5½p ahead at 223½p, attracted buyers after announcing oil was now flowing from the Brechin field in the North Sea at an initial rate of 8,000 barrels per day. The field was discovered in 2004 and Paladin owns 58.97%.

Strong support for miners and oil majors helped the FTSE 100 gain 43.5 points to 5087.0. In New York, the Dow was, up 77.9 at 10,368.7.

BG, up 18½p at 472p, led the blue-chips higher as bullish remarks from Morgan Stanley on the oil industry boosted the sector. The bank raised its industry outlook to 'attractive' and lifted estimates for oil producers' earnings by 27% in 2006, 39% in 2007 and 34% in 2008.

Shell, 17p stronger at 545p, benefited from institutional buyers rushing to top up their funds ahead of its restructuring. The miners were being bought after Numis analysts reiterated their buy rating on Rio Tinto, 23p higher at 1699, Antofogasta, 26p better at 1216p, and Xstrata, 18p up at 1065p.

AstraZeneca jumped 20p to 2245p after its breast cancer drug Arimidex won EU-wide approval for it to be prescribed to postmenopausal women to help prevent the return of the cancer.

Investors ditched Branston Pickle maker Premier Food after JP Morgan cut its rating to underweight from overweight and advised investors to take profits. Premier was 7½p lower at 327½p.

Morgan analysts say it is trading at a premium to peers, and see only a 'limited potential for earnings upgrade in the medium term'. Premier's private equity owners were forced to slash the offer price to 215p to get the flotation away last summer, but the group's fortunes have since improved.

Long-suffering shareholders in PlaneStation will have to wait a little more to see their money. Kent International Airport, PlaneStation's main bid for airborne success, will attract fewer passengers in its first year than had previously been expected. In order to keep the whole project from going belly up, the directors said today that they will find more money by selling off further assets. The shares fell 1.75p to 4.37p.

Defence company Chemring slid 3p to 467½p as it admitted turnover had slipped by almost £3m to £54m because of falling US orders in the second half. The group, which makes missile decoys for planes still expects 'another year of excellent growth'.