BP has moved higher on hopes of a resolution to its controversial joint venture in Russia.
The oil giant has reportedly set a deadline of Thursday for offers for its stake in TNK-BP, with the Daily Telegraph suggesting offers could come from both its oligarch partners AAR and state-controlled Rosneft.
Now the talk is that AAR has agreed to sell its own stake to Rosneft for a better than expected $28bn. Sky News says such a move could pave the way for BP to extricate itself from what has been a fractious experience in Russia.
Optimism a deal to sort out the Russian issues has seen BP shares climb 12.25p to 447.6p.
Elsewhere Diageo has dropped 37p to 1745.5p after the drinks giant reported a 5% rise in first quarter sales. This is down from the 9% reported this time last year. It had seen a mixed picture around the world, with growth in north America, but challenging markets in western Europe and the developed markets of Asia Pacific. Paul Walsh, its chief executive, said:
We continue to be aware of the uneven nature of the global economy. However we remain confident we will deliver our medium term goals, given the strength of our brands and our routes to market.
