FTSE treads water, braces for worst week since Feb. 2018

London's FTSE 100 recovered a bit on Friday, with BP lending the most support after the oil major named CEO Bob Dudley's successor, but the index is still headed for its worst week in 20 months as worries of a slowdown and risk of a recession keep markets on edge. Blue-chips were up 0.2% at 0704 GMT after four straight sessions in the red that wiped off nearly 5% from the index. The FTSE 250 midcap bourse was also up by the same level.

BP rose 1.2% after it named upstream business head Bernard Looney as Dudley's successor when he retires in 2020. LSE topped the FTSE 100 leader-board with a 2% rise after a Reuters report that some of its investors had asked Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing to sweeten the takeover bid.

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