A rising oil price, along with political developments in France and Germany, has helped push European stock markets into positive territory on the first trading day of the week.

The prospect that Francois Fillon could beat Marine Le Pen in next year’s French presidential election has given investors some comfort, as has Angela Merkel’s announcement she was running for a fourth term as German chancellor.

Meanwhile the climb in crude, based on growing hopes that Opec would reach an agreement on limiting output at its meeting next week, has lifted commodity companies, while dollar weakness has also helped.

But London shares slipped back from their highs after a bounce in sterling – the leading UK index is full of exporters and overseas earners who benefit from a weak pound. The currency responded to supposed hints from UK prime minister Theresa May about a Brexit transition deal.

The final scores in Europe showed:

• The FTSE 100 finished up just 2.19 points or 0.03% at 6777.96
• Germany’s Dax was 0.19% higher at 10,685.13
• France’s Cac closed up 0.56% at 4529.58
• Italy’s FTSE MIB rose 0.19% to 16,297.26
• Spain’s Ibex ended 0.1% down at 8614.6
• In Greece, the Athens market added 0.64% to 615.83

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently up around 0.4%, hovering around a new peak of 18947. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have also recorded new highs.

On that note, it’s time to close for the day. Thanks for all your comments, and we’ll be back tomorrow.