FTSE 100 down after bank holiday, as BP plummets
FTSE 100 down after bank holiday weekend, as BP plummets following failed oil leak response
Tuesday, 01, Jun 2010 10:10
By Sarah Garrod.
The UK's leading shares index the FTSE 100 was down in early trade on Tuesday morning, as investors returned from the bank holiday weekend.
By 09:35 BST the index had fallen 1.6 per cent, down 83.2 points to reach 5,105.23.
Leading the fallers was BP, after the beleaguered oil giant failed in its latest bid to stem the flow of oil pumping in to the Gulf of Mexico - sparking widespread environmental devastation.
The firm shed a huge 12.62 per cent this morning, after a releasing a statement saying it would be attempting fresh tactics to stem the flow of oil. The statement also said: "The cost of the response to date amounts to about $990 million (£684 million), including the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to the Gulf states, claims paid and federal costs.
"It is too early to quantify other potential costs and liabilities associated with the incident," BP added.
The sharp sell-off comes after US president Barack Obama visited the site of the oil spill - for the second time since the oil rig sank on April 20th - last Friday. He told the oil giant: "As I've said before, BP is the responsible party for this disaster.
"What that means is they're legally responsible for stopping the leak and they're financially responsible for the enormous damage that they've created."
Elsewhere on the index, it was Prudential who led the gainers, adding more than four per cent, after it failed in its bid to buy AIG's Asian arm, AIA. The UK insurer failed to convince AIA to reduce its price.