Senior management emerged from discussions at the White House $20bn poorer, with a commitment to halt the dividend for the remainder of this year. Yet BP shares were the biggest riser on the FTSE 100, climbing 7% to 360.6p.
Most analysts agreed that it drew a line in the sand for the beleaguered group. Estimates of potential losses had varied wildly and, as such, markets had found it difficult to find a floor in the share price.
The move accounted for much of the movement in the FTSE 100, which rose 16 points to 5,254 on the day. This was its seventh successive day of gains and showed some tentative confidence returning to markets. However, the US markets were slightly down on opening.
The banks were the other big risers on the day. Investors were cheered by new regulatory proposals announced last night by Chancellor George Osborne. In practice, it is difficult to see why as Osborne proposed a break-up of the banks and restrictions on pay and bonuses. However, as with BP, it may simply be a question of the devil you know.
Some of the retailers received a boost from a gentle rise in retail sales. Debenhams in particular had a good day’s trading as the Office for National Statistics announced a rise of 0.5% in retail sales (excluding fuel). Growth came largely from food, where sales rose 1%. It represented a reversal of the 0.1% dip seen in April.
On the other side, Game Group was a significant faller after announcing a decline in sales. The fall of 12.3% over the first 19 weeks was better than some analysts had expected, but still showed the group under pressure.
The mining stocks gave up some of the gains generated by the better global economic data from the last few days. Fresnillo was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100, dipping 2.8% to 1,025p.
