UK shares track rising oil prices amid troubles in the Middle East

Friday started on a bad note with the announcement of the monthly US employment figures. The job market remains stubbornly strong, which does not please investors, who fear higher rates for longer. While 170,000 job creations were expected in September, payrolls increased by 336,000. Indices dropped after the report, but recovered shortly after. The FTSE 100 added 0.6% on Friday, but fell 1.5% for the week.

Over the weekend, the Hamas attack in Israel - that killed hundreds of people and led to retaliation by the Israeli army - led to a rise in oil prices, lifting commodity stocks. Miners, aerospace and defense stocks also rose. The FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 9am.

In other news, Metro Bank jumped 23% after it announced a 325 million pound capital raise and 600 million pound debt refinancing yesterday. As a result, its largest investor - Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski, obtains majority shareholder control.

Hampered by rising interest rates, the British bank's share price had fallen by half in recent weeks, and even dropped 30% in a single day on Thursday.

Meanwhile, chemicals group Croda International dropped 7% after it lowered its annual profit guidance.

Things to read today:

A bitter blame game will follow Israel’s wartime unity (Financial Times)

What Oil Watchers Have to Say About Impact of Hamas’ Attacks (Bloomberg)

Iran Helped Plot Attack on Israel Over Several Weeks (WSJ)