London, Feb 23, 2026, 09:06 GMT — Regular session
- BP picked up around 0.3% in the early London session, sticking close to its recent peak.
- Oil slipped roughly 1%, with U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations looming and persistent tariff concerns keeping traders on edge.
- Up next: tariff mechanics on deck this week, those Geneva talks, plus BP reports April 28.
BP (BP.L) picked up 0.3% to 469.0 pence in early London moves Monday, after a choppy stretch last week. Shares stuck to a band of 467.2 to 471.55 pence. The next quarterly dividend lands on March 27, according to Davy data. 1
Oil slipped roughly 1%, with traders eyeing the third round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks set for Geneva this Thursday and digesting new American tariff moves. Brent crude dropped 87 cents to $70.89 a barrel as of 0722 GMT. According to IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore, tariff-related headlines have triggered “risk aversion flows”. Vanda Insights founder Vandana Hari pegged the premium from the ongoing Iran standoff at “at least $10 a barrel”. 2
BP faces a tricky backdrop as crude prices ease. Earlier this month, the company hit pause on share buybacks, choosing instead to channel more cash toward lowering net debt. That shift followed roughly $4 billion in charges tied to renewables and biogas assets at its most recent earnings. 3
The stock closed out Friday at 467.6 pence, off 2.38% for the session and sitting roughly 3% under the 484.1 pence high hit last week, Investing.com data show. 4
Uncertainty rippled through broader risk markets after the U.S. Supreme Court tossed out President Donald Trump’s emergency tariff program, prompting him to introduce a fresh global rate at 15%. Investors were left guessing about both timing and exemptions. In Asian trading, S&P 500 futures slipped 0.8%, with FTSE futures off 0.2%, according to Reuters. 5
Lightsource bp, the renewables arm backed by BP, announced that Australia’s Aula Energy will acquire a 1-gigawatt portfolio of its operating solar farms, along with a development pipeline including as much as 800 megawatts of battery projects. “We’re now focused on developing hybrid renewable projects—combining generation and storage,” said Asia-Pacific COO Adam Pegg. 6
Still, oil’s fortunes might shift fast if diplomacy gains traction. Goldman Sachs is sticking with its forecast for a 2.3 million barrels per day surplus in 2026, cautioning that Brent and WTI prices could come under pressure should sanctions on Iran or Russia ease, potentially unleashing more barrels onto the market. 7
BP’s earnings usually track crude, but not always one-to-one. Softer oil prices pinch upstream margins, yet they also lighten the load for BP’s refiners and fuel customers. Trading swings can get tossed into the mix, sometimes flipping gains to losses or the other way around. That push and pull is what makes the shares twitchy on days like this.
Markets now turn to Tuesday, when tariff collections under the invalidated U.S. program are set to pause, and then to Thursday, as Geneva talks could shake up oil’s geopolitical premium. BP is due to report its first-quarter results on April 28, according to the London South East financial diary. 8
