The FTSE 100 burst into life Tuesday on a share buyback from BP and an Asian market surge on talk China is planning hefty support to prop up its beleaguered stock markets.
In early trades, the Footsie was more than seventy points higher at 7,680 led by a 5% jump by BP as investors welcomed its full-year update. New chief executive Murray Auchincloss picked up the pace of the oil giant’s share buyback plans after delivering a fourth-quarter profit ahead of expectations at US$2.99 billion.
Elsewhere, retail sales data was more subdued, rising by 1.2% year-on-year in January and slowing down from growth of 4.2% a year ago, according to data from the BRC and KPMG survey.
Ahead of the bank reporting season, Virgin Money reported little change in its first quarter, with a drop in mortgage lending but a pick-up in its business division.
Finally, in a rarity for small-cap miners, Blencowe Resources jumped more than a fifth as the graphite specialist managed a placing at an impressive 33% premium to last night’s closing share price.