BP shares slip as FTSE totters

Shares in beleaguered oil giant BP slipped below the 400p level today during another see-saw session for London’s FTSE 100 Index.

President Obama’s latest scathing attack on the company and its chief executive Tony Hayward fuelled fears that BP will bow to political pressure and sanction its first dividend cut for 18 years.

BP, which has lost around 40% of its value since the Deepwater Horizon explosion in April, saw shares drop 3% or 13.5p to 395.4p.

The FTSE 100 Index dipped below the 5000 barrier early in the session before recovering to stand 7.6 points higher at 5035.8.

In Asia, stocks were dragged down by lingering worries over Europe’s debt crisis and potential labour disputes after Honda suspended production at two of its Chinese factories due to a walkout at a parts affiliate.

While BP struggled, other commodity-based stocks were in positive territory as Xstrata rose 19.2p to 944.3p, Kazakhmys lifted 23p to 1082p and Rio Tinto cheered 36.5p to 3098.5p.

Two of the biggest gains of the session came in the FTSE 250 Index, led by financial services and healthcare software firm Misys.

Shares in the group jumped 19% – up 42.1p to 265.6p – after it sold the majority of its 54.6% interest in its Allscripts US healthcare joint venture and promised to return around £700m (€848m) of the proceeds to investors.

Misys was followed on the FTSE 250 risers board by IG Index after the spread betting firm said recent market volatility had boosted trading volumes. With the company now expecting a 25% leap in full-year profits, shares rose 13% or 49.2p to 441.4p.

Meanwhile, shares in the sports retail sector were mixed after JD Sports Fashion became the first firm to highlight a World Cup sales boost.

The group said like-for-like sales in its sports shops rose 5.1% on a year earlier between January 31 and last weekend, compared with the 3% growth reported during the first 10 weeks of the trading period.

Sports Direct International, which owns Sports World, rose 2.3p to 96.5p but JD lost an initial gain to stand 3.5p lower at 777.5p.

Elsewhere in the retail sector, shares in online fashion firm ASOS jumped 5% after it reported a 44% rise in annual profits and predicted better growth this year as it believed the shift towards internet shopping among young fashion consumers was “bigger than the economic cycle”. Shares were up 30.5p at 663p.