FTSE ends up 1.9% on oils, airlines, leisure

By Michael Taylor

LONDON (Reuters) - The leading share index ended up almost 2 percent on Monday as energy companies rebounded after last week's fall, while lower crude prices boosted travel and leisure companies.

The FTSE 100 .FTSE was 99.9 points, or 1.9 percent higher at 5,512.7 after falling 2.1 percent last week. The index is down 14.6 percent so far this year.

Despite falling crude prices, heavyweight oil shares featured among leading gainers as traders said the sector had been oversold in recent sessions.

BP (BP.L), Shell (RDSa.L), BG Group (BG.L) and Tullow Oil (TLW.L) rose 3.7-4 percent. Deutsche Bank also raised the price target on both BP and Shell.

U.S. crude CLc1 retreated close to $140 a barrel, taking a pause from a record-breaking rally that has lifted prices by almost 50 percent this year.

"There's not much red on the screens today as traders look to pick up some bargain stocks after the recent sell off, whilst falling oil prices are also lifting sentiment," said Jimmy Yates, a dealer at CMC Markets.

"There are still a handful of notable losers out there and with some potentially fiery corporate dramas to be played out in the coming days it's going to be difficult to escape the downside pressures even if there's an optimistic streak emerging."

The falling oil prices helped buoy First Group FG.L, Carnival (CCL.L), easyJet (EZJ.L) and British Airways (BAY.L) 4-7.2 percent. The latter also benefited after rival Air France KLM (AIRF.PA) reported a 2.6 percent rise in June passenger traffic.