BP dominates trading as Gulf oil spill stays in spotlight

Angus Rigby, Chief Executive Officer, TD Waterhouse comments: "TD Waterhouse customers once again piled into BP plc (BP) shares this week, with trading volumes in the stock more than doubling overall, as the broader ramifications of the company's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continued to dominate the newspaper headlines.

"BP accounted for two thirds of buys among our customers in the week ended 15 June as Fitch downgraded its rating on the company's debt by six notches and the shares slumped to new lows. Buy trades in BP stock were eight times the volume of the next most-bought stock, Barclays plc (BARC), while BP's rival super-major Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDSA) re-entered the top ten for the first time in weeks at No. 5.

"Oil exploration shares also maintained their popularity with four juniors occupying slots in the top ten buys, alongside BP, Shell and the banks. Nautical Petroleum (NPE) and Encore Oil (EO) were at number six and number eight respectively after they said on Tuesday that a test at their Catcher well in the North Sea had been completed and that the partners have gathered enough information to progress development studies.

"Rockhopper Exploration (RKE) fell from its position as the most-sold stock last week, though it maintained a toe-hold in both top ten lists as our customers continued to monitor developments at its drilling prospect off the Falkland Islands.

"Trading in the banking stocks fell overall, though Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) improved their positions in the top ten buys as shares in all three financial institutions advanced over the week, helping to drive gains in the benchmark FTSE 100 index.

"Elsewhere in the top ten sells list, trading volumes in miners Xstrata plc (XTA) and Rio Tinto (RIO) increased ahead of Wednesday's meeting with the Australian government to discuss the Resources Super Profits Tax."