BP's shares on the up as it awaits oil spill cap results

BP shares were heading in the right direction again today, even though the company warned that it could be at least another day before it is clear if a new sealing cap will succeed in halting the flow of oil from the broken well in the Gulf of Mexico.

A 10% rise in the shares yesterday was followed by a gain of 9.8p to 408.25p today — a reassuring sign for the tens of thousands of small BP shareholders that have seen the value of their investment plummet lately.

Analysts hope that the three-month environmental crisis could soon be contained.

The company is performing a series of pressure tests to check the well's integrity, after the cap was put in place on Monday night.

The sealing-cap system hasn't been used before at these depths or conditions, BP said, adding that the system's "ability to contain the oil and gas cannot be assured".

Doug Suttles, the company's chief operating officer, said: "We have to recognise that this is a complex operation ... our confidence is growing."

BP has spent $3.5 billion (£2.3 billion) on the response effort so far.

It has also set aside a $20 billion fund to pay for the clean-up operation and other costs.