FTSE 100 aided by higher prices amid fragile investor mood

Higher oil prices lifted UK's commodity-heavy FTSE 100 on Thursday, although the mood was fragile as Britain saw a record surge in deaths from the coronavirus pandemic that threatens to plunge the world economy into a deep recession.

BP and Royal Dutch Shell gained more than 4%, as oil prices surged after U.S. President Donald Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia and Russia to reach a deal soon to end their oil price war. That helped the FTSE 100 gain 0.5% by 0809 GMT, but midcap shares dropped 0.1%

Shares of Standard Life Aberdeen, Mondi and Smith & Nephew fell as they traded ex-dividend, while Carnival Corp dropped 7.2% to the bottom of the FTSE 100. After Wednesday's data showed factory activity contracted sharply in most parts of the world in March, investors are waiting for U.S. weekly jobless claims to see how bad the world's largest economy has been hit by the outbreak.

IAG-owned British Airways rose 1.7% after a source told Reuters they are in talks with its union about a plan to suspend around 32,000 staff in response to the pandemic.