London, Jan 9, 2026, 11:02 GMT — Regular session
- BP shares rose about 2% as oil prices held firmer on Iran disruption worries, despite talk of more Venezuelan supply.
- BP disclosed fresh share repurchases this week under its ongoing buyback programme.
- Traders are watching the U.S. jobs report and Washington’s Venezuela oil talks for the next push in crude and energy stocks.
BP PLC shares rose 1.9% to about 424 pence in London trade, tracking a firmer tone in oil-linked stocks. The stock opened at 421.65 pence and had traded as high as 425.29 pence, data from Hargreaves Lansdown showed.
The bounce follows a bruising couple of sessions for UK oil names as traders weighed whether Venezuelan barrels could add supply just as demand is being tested. BP, which tends to move with crude because oil and gas prices feed straight into cash flow, has been a quick read-through on the tape this week.
Energy stocks across Europe were among the stronger pockets of the market on Friday, and investors were also bracing for the U.S. jobs report due later in the day. That matters for BP because a shift in rate and growth bets can hit the dollar and crude at the same time.
Brent futures were up 0.3% at $62.17 a barrel by 1005 GMT, while U.S. WTI gained 0.3% to $57.93, Reuters reported. Ole Hansen, head of commodity analysis at Saxo Bank, said unrest in Iran was lifting worry about disruption, while Tina Teng, market strategist at Moomoo ANZ, said the market was focused on how Venezuelan oil in storage would be sold and delivered.
BP said it bought 3.2 million ordinary shares on Jan. 8 under its buyback programme, paying a volume-weighted average price of about 415.7 pence per share across venues, and said it planned to transfer the shares into treasury. A separate filing showed it bought 3,174,587 shares on Jan. 7 at a volume-weighted average of about 417.6 pence.
The buyback, a process where a company repurchases its own shares to cut the share count, has been a key support story for BP as oil prices swing. But the stock can still gap around on flows: Norway’s sovereign wealth fund cut its BP stake to about 2.99% from around 3.99%, Reuters reported this week, and BP shares fell 3.16% that day.
BP’s peer Shell pulled the sector down on Thursday after trimming its fourth-quarter LNG production range and flagging losses in its chemicals business, while BP dipped 0.6% on what Reuters described as energy oversupply concerns. The sector has looked headline-driven since.
Still, the risk for BP bulls is that the oil lift fades fast. Reuters flagged rising global inventories and the prospect of higher Venezuelan supply as a cap on gains, and any fresh sign that supply is loosening could drag crude and cash-return trades lower.
Next up is the U.S. jobs report later on Friday and Washington’s talks with oil companies and trading houses on Venezuelan export deals, both seen as near-term catalysts for crude pricing. For BP investors, attention then turns to its next earnings update in February; Zacks said the next earnings release is expected on Feb. 10.
