SHARES in BP tanked on Tuesday after investors took flight when the oil major announced its second consecutive year of losses.
The group posted replacement cost losses of $999 million (£803m) for 2016 as it said oil prices remained ''challenging'', with the average for Brent crude standing at $44 a barrel - the lowest for 12 years.
BP was down more than four per cent, or 19.5p to 457.1p, suppressing gains on the FTSE 100 Index, which closed up 14.07 points to 7,186.22.
The London market touched a two-week high earlier in the session, reaching 7,227.22, while the FTSE 250 jumped 182.33 points to achieve a record all-time closing high of 18,559.7.
A near seven per cent rise in FirstGroup's share price helped the second tier scale new heights after the transport giant said a Brexit boost from the weak pound kept it on track for the full year.
Shares rose 7.2p to 111.2p as it posted a 12.8 per cent jump in revenues for the final three months of 2016 thanks to the pound's slump against the US dollar.
Across Europe, Germany's Dax rose 0.3 per cent while the Cac 40 in France dropped 0.5 per cent.
The price of oil fell 1.6 per cent to $54.82 a barrel amid signs of a revival in US shale production that could complicate Opec's attempts to curb the supply glut.
On the currency markets, the pound was up 0.3 per cent against the US dollar at 1.249 and rose 0.7 per cent versus the euro at 1.167.
The strengthening US dollar, coupled with disappointing UK economic data showing falling retail sales and house prices, had put sterling under pressure during session.
However, the pound bounced back after Kristin Forbes, one of the nine rate-setters on the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), said the Bank may need to hike interest rates soon to stop inflation soaring too high.
She signalled she was inching closer to voting for a rate hike after becoming increasingly ''uncomfortable'' with surging inflation given the economy's resilience since the Brexit vote.
In UK stocks, the house builders were enjoying a boost after Bellway cheered a "strong" first half, with home completions rising by 6.5 per cent to 4,462 in the six months to January 31.
It said it was on track to build around five per cent more homes this financial year and saw the average selling price of private homes rise by more than four per cent to £291,000 in its first half of the year.
Shares in Bellway rose 51p to 2,567p, while on the top tier Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments climbed 2.3p to 172.1p and 2.8p to 496.3p respectively.
On the AIM market, toymaker Hornby saw shares jump more than four per cent on the back of a robust festive performance and signs that its turnaround plan were on track.
The Scalextric-to-Airfix firm said underlying Christmas trading was "healthy" and January sales were "solid" despite annual group revenue slumping 25 per cent over the festive season.
Shares were up 1.5p to 32.8p, with the firm saying it was "well-positioned" on its journey back to profitability.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were DCC up 360p to 6,735p, Fresnillo up 78p to 1,566p, Randgold Resources up 290p to 7,435p, Pearson up 23p to 667p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 Index were BP down 19.5p to 457.1p, CRH down 69p to 2,745p, Standard Chartered down 12.5p to 791.1p, Royal Dutch Shell B down 32p to 2,249p.
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