BP (UK:BP. 539.50, +20.00, +3.85%) (BP 52.74, +2.27, +4.50%) said it drilled to one of the lowest depths ever in the oil and gas industry as it touted a "giant" discovery off the coast of Texas, while adding that it has yet to assess the amount of oil available there. The stock rose nearly 4% at last check. At the Tiber prospect, BP said it drilled to a total depth of roughly 35,000 feet to reach the oil. The site is 250 miles southeast of Houston in 4,132 feet of water Other oil and gas firms on the move included natural-gas producer BG Group (UK:BG. 1,011, +17.50, +1.76%) , up 1.6%, and Royal Dutch Shell (UK:RDSA 1,699, +12.00, +0.71%) (RDS .A 55.26, +0.95, +1.75%) , up 0.4%. UKX 4,800, -19.32, -0.40% 5,0004,5004,0003,5003,000 09FMAMJJA The move in the oil and gas sector helped to limit losses for the FTSE 100 index (UK:UKX 4,800, -19.32, -0.40%) which lost 0.4% to 4,799.74. The index extended losses from the previous session, the first day of September, when it ended down 1.8%. Other European shares were also lower on Wednesday and U.S. stocks were also weak. See Europe Markets. Banks were some of the worst performers in London, with shares of Royal Bank of Scotland (UK:RBS 52.45, -3.06, -5.50%) down 5.1%, shares of Lloyds Banking Group (UK:LLOY 99.03, -6.99, -6.59%) (LYG 6.50, -0.27, -3.99%) down 5.7% and Barclays (UK:BARC 355.40, -14.60, -3.95%) (BCS 23.11, -0.36, -1.53%) shares down 3.1%. Metal extractors were also lower, with Rio Tinto (UK:RIO 2,285, -46.00, -1.97%) (RTP 150.40, -1.97, -1.29%) shares down 1.8% and Antofagasta (UK:ANTO 714.50, -21.00, -2.86%) shares down 3.2%. Both sectors have rallied sharply since shares in the U.K. hit multi-year lows in March as investors hoped the economic backdrop was set to improve. On Wednesday investors were buying up some stocks that are normally regarded as safe-haven places for investors to put their money, such as food retailers and tobacco firms. Shares of supermarket group William Morrison (UK:MRW 285.40, +9.40, +3.41%) rose 2.8% and Tesco (UK:TSCO 371.40, +4.00, +1.09%) shares were up 1.2%. Merrill Lynch analysts said that they rate both firms at buy. "Inelasticity of demand and concerns of falling food inflation have weighed on the food retailers' share performance. This looks a little overdone with the sector trading slightly below its long-run market-relative rating," the analysts said. It reinstated coverage on 10 general retail stocks in Europe, also rating Home Retail (UK:HOME 312.80, +2.80, +0.90%) , Kingfisher (UK:KGF 208.10, +2.00, +0.97%) and Next (UK:NXT 1,643, +20.00, +1.23%) at buy. "We think there is a margin story as surplus capacity and retailer flexibility has reduced the dollar sourcing drag; and as cost-cutting, lower rent costs and extra volume have leveraged profit and loss accounts," the broker said. Home Retail shares rose 0.2%, Kingfisher shares climbed 0.8% and Next shares were up 1.1%. DSG International (UK:DSGI 27.51, +0.52, +1.93%) shares climbed 3.1% outside the top index. On Wednesday, the firm posted a 6% drop in 16-week comparable sales, although it said that this was a better result than analysts had been expecting. Margins increased 0.7% year-on-year, the firm added.

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