Oil giant BP helped the FTSE 100 Index rally by more than 1% today after its results for the final quarter of 2014 came in ahead of City expectations.
Lower oil prices meant BP’s replacement cost profit for the quarter was down to 2.24 billion US dollars (£1.49 billion), or a loss of 969 million US dollars (£645 million) when including exceptional items.
The performance was at the top end of expectations and with BP also maintaining its dividend, shares surged by more than 3% or 15.7p to 453.2p.
The FTSE 100 Index was up by 82.8 points to 6865.3, with commodity-based stocks buoyed by the BP figures and a recent surge in energy prices after Brent crude rose back above 55 US dollars a barrel.
Other risers included BHP Billiton, which was 5% or 73p higher at 1557.5p.
In other corporate news, Ocado’s first profit in its 15-year history brought a mixed reaction from the City as shares initially fell by 2%.
Retail analyst Clive Black retained his sell rating and warned that high investment costs and a meagre profit performance were expected to persist.
However, Ocado’s shares later recovered to stand 3% or 12.6p higher at 428.1p, helped by the company’s confidence that it will continue to outperform the wider grocery sector.
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