Leading shares opened the session higher as strength in oil heavyweights, on the back of record crude prices, offset poorly received earnings from Alliance & Leicester and BOC, dealers said. At 8.20 am, FTSE 100 was 11.4 firmer at 5,302.2, its highest levels since May 2002, with the broader indices also positive. Meanwhile, US stocks ended mixed yesterday as investors juggled positive manufacturing data with the fresh spike in oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 17.76 points to 10,623.15 hit by weakness in shares of Home Depot and Merck amongst others. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 10.55 points to 2,195.38 while the S&P 500 Index added 1.17 points to 1,235.35. In Asia overnight, the Nikkei 225 closed down 6.72 points at 11,940.20, while the Hang Seng ended its morning session 146.72 firmer at 15,125.60. And still in Asia, crude prices eased slightly from record closing highs in New York, albeit still above the 61 usd mark, as assurances from Saudi Arabia that its oil policy will remain unchanged after the death of King Fahd calmed some market jitters. Earlier this morning, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, was at 61.50 usd a barrel, down 0.07 usd from its record close of 61.57 usd in the US overnight.