With Hurricane Alex moving away from Gulf spill, BP regains market value as shares rise 2 pct
By APWednesday, June 30, 2010
BP shares rise 2 percent in morning trading
NEW YORK — Shares of BP are up about 2 percent as Hurricane Alex continues to move away from the Gulf oil spill.
Shares of BP rose 59 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $28.26 Wednesday. That could mean a third straight day of gains. At the current price, the shares this week have regained nearly $6 billion of about $105 billion of the market value lost since the April 20 rig explosion.
Containment crews kept working as Alex moved away from the spill about 220 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas.
J.P. Morgan analyst Fred Lucas also noted this week that BP’s plunge in value “substantially over-states” the potential liabilities from the spill. If the share value doesn’t recover, Lucas said rivals Exxon Mobil or Royal Dutch Shell may consider acquiring BP.
