BP Share News (BP.)

Footsie's gain burst through the triple digit barrier over the lunchtime session, helped by expectations of a solid start by Wall Street. Mining stocks lead the advance as copper inventories continue to contract, with Kazakhmys, Antofagasta, Vedanta and Xstrata at the head of the pack. Sticking with the resource sector, mining and oil giant BHP Billiton broke production records in a string of its operations last year, though it has kept a cautious stance over the outlook for mining this year. Embattled oil giant BP has done a deal to sell $7bn of upstream assets in the United States, Canada and Egypt to Apache Corporation. Assets include its Permian Basin assets in Texas and south-east New Mexico. BP said the sales are part of its plan to raise $10bn by offloading non-core assets to cover claims made following the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.Household goods firm Reckitt got the day off to an exciting start with a bid for SSL. Reckitt Benckiser will pay SSL shareholders 1,163p per share with a final dividend taking the total up to 1,171p per share. The bid values SSL in total at £2.54bn. The offer price is a premium of a third to the closing price yesterday of SSL, which is known globally for its Durex and Scholl brands.Following hot on the heels of the £2.9bn bid for engineer Tomkins announced on Monday the Reckitt bid has sparked a search for the next big takeover target, with engineer Invensys and travel firm TUI Travel seen by many as likely candidates.The number or blue chip stocks in the red is small. Outsourcing specialist Capita is one of them, as fears persist about the fall-out from the government's determination to slash public spending, while medical devices firm Smith & Nephew is another stock taking a bruising. Results from US sector peer Stryker have not enthused investors and there are also rumours that Citigroup is trying to place 8m shares in the UK joint replacement company at 559p. Telecoms group Cable & Wireless Communications reported a strong start to the financial year that began on March 1, but the shares stepped back after the company warned that trading across the various exotic markets it operates in has been mixed.Investors look set to leave the shares of groceries delivery firm Ocado on the shelf, even after the company said it will float its shares at 180p, right at the bottom end of the 180p to 200p range Ocado outlined yesterday. It had previously indicated a price range of 200p to 275p.Despite drastically reducing the asking price for its shares, early indications are that the shares are still too dear. On the first day of conditional trading the shares traded more than 10% below the flotation price.US authorities have told British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia they are free to run a joint business on transatlantic flights after granting the trio anti-trust immunity. Regulatory approval from the US Department of Transportation following the green light from Europe last week, paves the way for the launch of the transatlantic tripartite this autumn.Sparkling results overnight from consumer electronics titan Apple has boosted chip designer ARM; the company's designs feature in most of Apple's successful products. Pharmaceuticals colossus GlaxoSmithKline is barely changed after second quarter figures that saw turnover rise 4% from a year earlier to £7.03bn, in line with market expectations. Operating profit before major restructuring was £641m, an 80% decline in constant exchange rate terms, primarily due to significant legal costs in the quarter and lower other operating income.Property giant Land Securities made progress in its first quarter, but says the overall picture remains mixed with demand strong in some property types but weak in others.Platinum refiner Johnson Matthey has had a strong start to the financial year, but the company, which sells catalysts for cars, warned that second quarter results may be affected by reduced consumer confidence.South American precious metal miner Hochschild Mining said it is on track to achieve its 2010 production target after achieving a 12% quarter on quarter increase in production in the three months to June 30.Shares in kitchen and joinery group Galiform rallied as sales bounced back strongly from the cold spell at the start of the year. Profits in the half year to June jumped from £4.7m to £21.6m, on sales of £325m up from £317m.Blacks Leisure said like for like sales for the 17 weeks to the end of June fell 7.5% but is encouraged by the new store programme and is confident about its plans for the key winter trading period.