UK stocks inch up on energy boost; real estate shares fall after Jefferies downgrade

London stocks reversed course on Wednesday in choppy trading helped by gains in energy and healthcare shares, while real estate stocks fell after Jefferies analysts said London's embattled office market is in 'rental recession', reports Reuters.
Both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indexes inched up 0.1 per cent by 0836 GMT.
Energy stocks gained 0.5 per cent, boosted by a 7 per cent jump in Ithaca Energy after Britain gave the greenlight for developing the Rosebank oil and gas field in UK North Sea.
"Ithaca Energy has been on a roller coaster ride since its launch onto the London market, weighed down partly by the windfall tax. So, the approval marks a ray of light for the company," Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown said in a note.
Oil prices rose by more than $1 a barrel, further aiding energy stocks, as markets focused on supply tightness heading into winter.
London's embattled office market is in 'rental recession' as volumes of empty space across the capital's West End, City and Canary Wharf business districts hit a 30-year high, analysts at Jefferies said.
Land Securities, British Land, Derwent London and Great Portland Estates fell between 1 per cent and 3 per cent after Jefferies downgraded all the stocks.
The broader real estate index fell 0.9 per cent.
After the pandemic, the roll-out of flexible working policies for employees - work-from-home and hybrid working setups - from businesses and corporate companies has partly dampened demand for huge office rental spaces.
Healthcare stocks were up 0.6 per cent.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will discuss the risk that patients on Wegovy, Ozempic or similar drugs may suffer certain complications under anaesthesia that can lead to pneumonia, according to an agenda posted on the regulator's website.
Flutter shares rose 1.1 per cent after the Fanduel and Paddy Power owner said it had bought an initial 51 per cent stake in Serbia's number two sports betting and gaming operator MaxBet for 141 million euros ($148.95 million).