BP drop in profit drags on FTSE
The FTSE 100 stumbles in early trading as BP results drag on performance.
European markets are generally higher this morning following speculation the European Central Bank (ECB) will take further action to halt the eurozone crisis, with Germany’s Dax up 0.35 per cent to 6797.6 at 8.35am.
However the FTSE 100 initially dropped on the second quarter results from oil giant BP, before recovering slightly to be just 0.03 per cent down to 5692.12.
BP announced its underlying replacement cost profit for the second quarter of 2012 was $3.7bn (£2.36bn), down $1.1bn from the $4.8bn in the first three months of the year as it blamed the effect of weaker oil and US gas prices.
Meanwhile the US indices also finished slightly lower with the S&P 500 down 0.05 per cent to 1,385.3 and the Dow Jones slipped 0.02 per cent to 13,073.01.