BP plc (LON: BP), 888 Holdings PLC (LON: 888) and J Sainsbury plc (LON: SBRY) are rising.
Five days of falls for the FTSE 100 look to have been halted this morning, with the index of top UK shares regaining 15 points to 6,403 at the time of writing. The fallout from the Cyprus bailout farce appears to have faded a little today, but falling bank shares aren't helping.
But other FTSE constituents are rising today. Here are three shares on the way up:
BP
BP (LSE: BP) (NYSE: BP.US) shares perked up 12.5p (2.8%) to 462p after the oil and gas giant announced an $8 billion share buyback plan. The cash comes from BP's sale of its 50% stake in TNK-BP to Rosneft, the Russian state oil company, for $12.5 billion. The figure of $8 billion represents the value of BP's original investment in cash, shares and assets that it made in the 2003 formation of TNK-BP.
Chief executive Bob Dudley said: "BP is moving on to the next phase of its business in Russia, becoming the largest private shareholder in Rosneft, Russia's leading oil company. In the process we have also released cash, equivalent to at least six years of BP's anticipated future dividends from TNK-BP."
888 Holdings
Shares in 888 Holdings (LSE: 888) gained a modest 1% to 164p this morning after the online gaming operator was granted a license in the US state of Nevada -- the Nevada Gaming Commission has given the nod to 888 to operate as a Gaming Service Provider.
Chief executive Brian Mattingley said: "Seen in the industry as the gold standard of global gaming regulation, we are delighted to have been awarded our licence to operate in the State of Nevada, a decision that vindicates our US strategy."
Sainsbury's
Shares in supermarket J Sainsbury (LSE: SBRY) are recovering today after an erratic few days. Tuesday's upbeat fourth-quarter sent the price up 6p on the day, and it rose a further 3p on Wednesday, for a 2.5% rise overall. But yesterday the price gave up its gains, slumping back again.
Still, today the price is back up, having put on 7.8p (2.1%) on the day to 376p. Forecasts for the full year put the shares on a P/E of 12.4, with a dividend yield of 4.6% expected -- and that doesn't look overpriced to me.
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> Alan does not own any shares mentioned in this article.
