Those London traders who were in work today seem to have been remarkably phlegmatic about the events unfolding in Pakistan and the early Wall Street losses.
In the wake of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, Wall Street is down more than 100 points; oil and precious metals are moving sharply higher; and the pound is falling as dealers snap up the euro, seen as a safe haven. But London shares have ended in positive territory - just about. The FTSE 100 rose 18.5 points to 6497.8 while the FTSE 250 climbed 21.6 points to 10,608.3.
Partly it is the oil price increase, benefiting the likes of Cairn Energy - up 6% - and BG - nearly 3% better. And partly it is the effect of investors looking for defensive stocks when times look turbulent. There are few better defensive stocks than utilities, hence a near 3% increases in National Grid, United Utilities and Scottish & Southern Energy.
The downside of a higher oil price of course is that it increases costs at transport groups, hence a 2% fall in British Airways and cruise company Carnival.
