Market report: Thursday close

BP CAME under selling pressure, falling 4½p to 551p, following the explosion at its refinery in Texas that killed 14 workers.

The refinery is one of the biggest in the US, accounting for 30% of BP's output there. The blast occurred in a unit which makes parts to boost petrol octane levels. It has also raised fears about future supplies, driving up petrol futures and the oil price.

Brokers say it is too early to determine the impact on BP itself. Rival Shell dipped 2½p to 478½p.

Elsewhere in the sector, Cairn Energy added 9p at 1180p after the latest favourable update on drilling activity in the Rajasthan area of India.

The company, which only last week fell out of the Footsie, said latest drillings have identified reserves of 250m to 350m barrels of oil (upgraded from previous estimates of between 80m and 220m barrels) in an area west of its main find in the Mangala field.

Share prices generally traded in a narrow range with the FTSE 100 index closed up 12.1 at 4922.5. It was underpinned by an opening rally on Wall Street this afternoon.

News of the departure of Jonathan Bloomer as chief executive of accidentprone Prudential was well received and the price shot up 23½p to 501p, making it the best blue-chip performer. The Pru's 80%-owned online bank Egg jumped 7¼p to 114½p in the belief the new man, HBOS finance director Mark Tucker, will achieve what his predecessor failed to do - dispose of it.

Egg was put up for sale by the Pru last year, but after seven months it gave up on the idea because the life assurer could not agree terms with anyone.

Quoted stockbroker Rensburg returned from suspension 98½p higher at 598½p. It follows the move to splash out £188m on rival broker Carr Shephards Crosthwaite.

Gossips claim Hilton, down 4p at 298½p, is looking to sell its Scandic hotels chain to Accor, but few investors are looking to buy into the rumour. In a classic stroke of bad luck, Hilton bought the Scandinavianbased operation just two weeks before 9/11.

Recent results showed Scandic is on the mend. But Hilton boss David Michels thinks there is more improvement to come before he considers a sale.

Recruitment consultant Whitehead Mann is worth less than a quarter of what it was valued at back in September, today tumbling 5p to 50½p. The company admits it plans to raise extra funds by way of a placing and open offer. Last year's boardroom coup was accompanied by a profits warning.

Newly-floated Islamic Bank stood out with a jump of 11½p to 54p, believed to be benefiting from favourable changes made by the Chancellor to Muslim mortgages in last week's Budget.

US broker Lehman Brothers has cut its target for supermarkets chain Wm Morrison, off 3¾p at 194½p, from 230p to 210p, but remains overweight.

The warning of tough trading conditions at Next appears to have fallen on deaf ears.

The shares shot up 33p to 1632p after US securities house Goldman Sachs tweaked its earnings estimates higher to reflect a one-off tax refund.

Goldman still rates the shares in-line but says operational risks have increased, owing to the proposed addition of 24% more selling space while like-for-like sales remain under pressure. Panmure Gordon has repeated its buy rating.