Tuesday 14 December 2010
BP was in the takeover spotlight as leading shares rose for the fourth trading day in a row to hit a new high for the year.
The company was the biggest riser in the leading index, up 14.75p to 473.10p on talk of possible bid interest from Royal Dutch Shell, whose B shares added 28.5p to 2081.5p. More than 61m BP shares changed hands, well above recent levels. Since the Gulf of Mexico disaster BP has been seen as vulnerable to a bid, with Exxon Mobil also mentioned as a possible predator.