London's blue-chip index has closed slightly higher thanks to rising oil prices and a strong performance by Easyjet.

The FTSE 100 gained 0.2% to 7,730.32 points.

Easyjet was the best performer, up 5%, after Ryanair's pilot shortage and the demise of competitor Monarch paved the way for a strong first quarter for the budget airline.

Sky also gained 2% after regulators ruled its takeover by Fox was not in the public interest.

Miners were among the worst performers, with BHP Billiton, Fresnillo and Anglo American all losing more than 2%.

easyJet soared to the top of the FTSE 100 risers on Tuesday morning following strong revenue growth in the first quarter.

Its share price is up 6.8% at £16.70.

Sky was among the top gainers, up 2.9% at £10.33 following the provisional findings by the CMA into a takeover of 21st Century Fox.

The FTSE 100 is ahead 12.55 points at 7,727.99.

Strong sales at Pets at Home lifted the retailer to the top of the FTSE 250, with its share price up 7.8% at 196.30p.

N Brown, however, tumbled 11.69% to 246.20p after it trimmed its forecasts on profit margins.

The FTSE 250 is down at 20,610.17.

The FTSE 100 has closed 0.3% lower at 7,708.82.

The biggest faller was Paddy Power Betfair, which like other gaming companies was hammered by reports that the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals would be slashed.

Other fallers included pest control business Rentokil, down 3.1%, and data business Relx, which lost 2.8%.

The FTSE 250 was almost flat at the bell, at 20,647.34, although betting firm William Hill lost 10.5%.

Shares in bookmaking businesses remain in the doldrums as stock markets head towards midday.

William Hill is leading the FTSE 250 fallers, down 12% followed by Ladbrokes Coral Group which is trading 8.5% lower.

Sportingbet-owner GVC Holdings is off 2.7%.

The wider FTSE 250 is down 16.23 points at 20,637.09.

The FTSE 100 is trading marginally higher at 7,734.81 led by BT Group, up 2.7%.

Let's have a look at some of the shares making early moves in London.

Ocado has jumped almost 10% after it announced a deal to supply its delivery expertise to Canada's second biggest supermarket chain.

Dixons Carphone is up more than 2% after it reported a solid Christmas trading period.

Lonmin is down 1.6% after the miner reported a 65% drop in profits for 2017.

Overall the FTSE 100 is down slightly.

Shares at troubled carpet retailer Carpetright have plummeted an epic 44.7% or 73.5 points to 91p after reporting disappointing post-Christmas trading figures.

The FTSE 100 has opened flat, down just 0.06% or 4.6 points to 7,696.32.

Womenswear retailer Bonmarché has fallen 18.6% to 103p on disappointing Christmas trading figures.

Funeral provider Dignity has also seen its shares sink 53% to 900p after issuing a profit alert.

Kingfisher heads the losers, falling 1.8% to 337.7p, while EasyJet leads the winners, rising 2.6% to £15.52.

The FTSE 250 meanwhile is down 0.2% or 39.8 points to 20,625.22.

Funeral provider Dignity is top of the losers, down 41.3% to £11.25 after issuing a profit warning.

The FTSE 100 has lost ground for a second day, falling 0.3% to 7,700 points.

Primark owner ABF was the day's biggest faller, down 3.6%, while the top gainer was Hargreaves Lansdown - up 4.3%.

A quick check in on the FTSE just before noon shows the index drifting lower again today (after a fall on Wednesday).

The FTSE is down 30 points - or 0.39% at 7,695.33.

FTSE's top gainer is Hargreaves Lansdown up 4.1% after Barclays and others put out very positive notes on the Bristol-based business.

Top of the loser board is SSE - down 3% - because investors are expecting a price cap to affect revenues.

The FTSE 100 index opened down 11.71 points at 7,713.72 on Thursday morning.

Investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown is leading the risers, up 2.6% at £18.89 while energy provider SSE is the largest faller, down 2.3% at £13.11.

The FTSE 250 is also trading lower, losing 13.41 points to 20,755.95.

The pound is marginally ahead against the dollar at $1.38370.

Sterling is down 0.19% on the euro at €1.13290.

The FTSE 100 has ended 0.4% lower at 7,725 points, dragged lower by a 9% slide in Burberry.

Informa, which has made a bid for rival UBM, dipped 5.8% as investors reacted negatively to the terms of the proposed tie-up. FTSE 250-listed UBM soared almost 12%, however.

Rolls-Royce was the day's biggest blue-chip riser, up 5.4%.