BP Share News (BP.)

Domestic economic data has failed to jolt the top share index into life, but a raft of data from the US could trigger a move above 6,000 points later this afternoon.Mortgage lending fell to a 20-month low in November new figures from the British Bankers' Association (BBA) show, underlining the weakness the housing market is currently experiencing.Weekly jobs figures, durable goods data and personal expenditure are due from the US at 1.30pm London time.Oil prices closed above $90 a barrel for the first time since October 2008 yesterday following a bigger than expected decline in US crude supplies last week. That's giving BP and Royal Dutch Shell a lift this morning.ARM is giving back a little of yesterday's big gains. Miners have also dipped and HSBC is off colour on fears about further monetary tightening measures in China.Rio Tinto has increased its offer for Riversdale Mining to A$16 a share in cash, securing the backing of management for a deal worth A$3.9bn (£2.5bn). The mining giant admitted earlier this month it had talked to the Sydney-based firm, which has interests in African coal, about a A$15 a share takeover valuing the business at £2.2bn (A$3.5bn).Pharmaceuticals giants AstraZeneca and Abbott have dissolved their collaboration agreement covering the development of Certriad capsules. After the US FDA issued a Complete Response Letter for the Certriad new drug application the two companies decided that the resulting regulatory delay meant development of Certriad is no longer commercially attractive. Outsourcing giant Capita has announced two bolt-on acquisitions. It is buying hotel and meetings bookings firm BSI for £42.5m, and ICT services provider SunGard Public Sector Holdings for £86m.Train operator National Express has been given an early Christmas present in the form of a two-year extension on its c2c rail franchise. The decision by the Department for Transport (DfT) means the franchise will now run to 26 May 2013, although it has an option to terminate from 8 December 2012.Afren, the Africa-focused oil and gas company, said well tests on its Ebok field, located off the coast of Nigeria, have provided confirmation of phase one production expectations of more than 15,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).FTSE 100 - RisersTUI Travel (TT.) 246.30p +1.99%Old Mutual (OML) 125.20p +1.87%Kingfisher (KGF) 262.80p +1.82%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 678.50p +1.72%Vodafone Group (VOD) 171.80p +1.36%BP (BP.) 476.10p +1.30%British Land Co (BLND) 536.00p +1.23%Pearson (PSON) 1,037.00p +1.07%Next (NXT) 1,992.00p +1.07%Land Securities Group (LAND) 672.00p +0.98%FTSE 100 - FallersARM Holdings (ARM) 423.30p -3.86%Intertek Group (ITRK) 1,818.00p -2.31%Man Group (EMG) 298.20p -1.06%ICAP (IAP) 532.00p -1.02%Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,538.50p -0.90%Xstrata (XTA) 1,509.00p -0.79%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,269.00p -0.78%Aggreko (AGK) 1,505.00p -0.73%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,536.00p -0.71%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,590.00p -0.61%FTSE 250 - RisersWilliam Hill (WMH) 172.00p +3.55%St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 164.00p +3.40%Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 30.50p +2.80%Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 150.70p +2.73%3i Infrastructure (3IN) 123.60p +2.23%St James's Place (STJ) 273.70p +2.20%Premier Foods (PFD) 19.31p +2.12%Betfair Group (BET) 989.50p +2.01%Beazley (BEZ) 116.00p +1.75%Big Yellow Group (BYG) 343.80p +1.72%FTSE 250 - FallersMichael Page International (MPI) 547.00p -3.27%Supergroup (SGP) 1,203.00p -2.35%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 523.50p -2.24%AZ Electronic Materials SA (WI) (AZEM) 296.00p -1.99%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 156.90p -1.94%BTG (BGC) 230.60p -1.91%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 884.00p -1.67%Cookson Group (CKSN) 650.00p -1.44%UK Commercial Property Trust (UKCM) 83.65p -1.41%BH Global Ltd. USD Shares (BHGU) 10.7 -1.38%