BP Share News (BP.)

Oil stocks were the star performers on a decent day for the Footsie, which clawed its way back above the 5,300 mark, helped by a better start on Wall Street.The oil companies were leading the rise on Wednesday, with Tullow Oil, Essar Energy and BP being helped by a rising oil price. Drilling in the previously untested northern segment of the Mad Dog field in the Gulf of Mexico has resulted in a "significant resource extension", according to the oil giant BP.Sector peer Wood Group was in demand, with Reuters saying that the rise may have to do with worries that the stock may be relegated out of the top share index during the quarterly review due after the closing of trading.BG Group, too, was a high riser on news that it is in discussions to buy Indian firm Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). BG India's president and managing director said, "We had given a proposal to ONGC a while back. The ball is in their court."M&A speculation also helped the share price of multi-metal mining giant Anglo American, which is rumoured to be considering an offer for US coking coal miner Walter Energy. According to The Times, the FTSE 100 miner could pitch an offer price at a massive 60% premium to Walter's closing share price on Tuesday on Wall Street, valuing the US firm at around $7.49bn. Imperial Tobacco fell after Goldman Sachs downgraded it from buy to neutral. The cigarette maker was removed from the stockbroker's pan-European buy list and downgraded it target price from £24 to £21.90. Advertising giant WPP was heading north after it acquired market research technology firm Global Market Insite (GMI) for an undisclosed sum. GMI will be aligned with Lightspeed Research, a division of WPP's wholly-owned information, insight and consultancy group Kantar, which provides global online research panels and products. Moving lower were mining peers Randgold Resources, Fresnillo and African Barrick Gold, as gold and silver prices took a hit, falling around 4% and 3%, respectively, in the afternoon. SuperGroup, the firm behind the ultra-trendy Superdry fashion label, was in demand on Wednesday morning after posting a surge in sales in the first quarter.Sports Direct rose despite seeing a 5.7% fall in gross profit in the 13 weeks ending 25 July after tough comparisons with the same period last year when the FIFA World Cup was taking place. Shares in Dixons gave up strong gains after its chief executive John Browett poured cold water on rumours that the electrical products retailer has been in merger talks with Carphone Warehouse. BCFTSE 100 - RisersTullow Oil (TLW) 1,171.00p +7.83%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,374.00p +7.26%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,329.00p +6.83%GKN (GKN) 190.00p +6.80%Wolseley (WOS) 1,609.00p +6.63%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 32.73p +6.44%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,866.00p +6.26%Barclays (BARC) 159.95p +6.10%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 22.46p +6.09%Carnival (CCL) 1,979.00p +6.00%FTSE 100 - FallersRandgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,780.00p -2.31%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,065.00p -1.90%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 289.40p -0.69%Rexam (REX) 338.60p -0.38%Fresnillo (FRES) 2,057.00p -0.34%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 2,515.00p -0.12%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 251.70p -0.08%Tesco (TSCO) 374.70p -0.01%