Oil and gas firms listed on the alternative investment market (AIM) enjoyed a near-10% surge in value during the third quarter of 2013.
Launching its latest Oil and Gas Eye index report, which tracks share prices, accountancy giant EY said the sharp rise was the biggest in 18 months.
The increase was fuelled by a rush of flotations and improved investor confidence, EY added.
Ally Rule, oil and gas transactions partner at EY in Aberdeen cautioned, however, that the feel-good factor was confined to a small number of players and most AIM-listed companies were yet to experience a tangible upturn in fortunes.
He said: “Investor interest in riskier stocks may have returned on the back of some positive news on economic growth in developed markets, but the feel-good or perhaps the feel-less-bad factor continues to elude a number of the sector’s smaller players.
“This is reflected in the fact the Eye has failed to register more than two consecutive quarters of growth since 2009, and the current value of the index is 3% lower than it was at the start of the year.”
The index posted near double-digit growth of 9.6% in the three months to the end of September.
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