FTSE 100 movers: 3i boosted by Canaccord note; BT hit by Exane downgrade

London's FTSE 100 was up 0.1% to 7,523.06 in afternoon trade as investors digested news that the UK economy grew less than expected in the first quarter.

3i was the top riser after Canaccord Genuity lifted its price target on the stock to 975p from 875p following "another strong set of full-year results" earlier this month.

EasyJet flew higher after Central and Eastern European-focused low-cost airline Wizz Air reported record profit for the year to the end of March despite "challenging" conditions including low fares and increasing fuel prices.

Hargreaves Lansdown analyst George Salmon said shareholders in easyJet would likely be delighted to see Wizz hasn’t seen demand from UK passengers drop, despite the uncertainty around Brexit and the drop in sterling. "But with overcapacity a perennial problem, the news that Wizz is planning on increasing capacity by around 23% next year will be less welcome."

Going the other way, BT retreated as Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the stock to 'underperform' from 'neutral', saying the underlying business appears to be "teetering on the edge".

Distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl and business support group DCC were weaker as their stocks went ex-dividend.

Risers

3i Group (III) 873.50p 3.93%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,369.00p 1.86%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,268.50p 1.33%
Royal Mail (RMG) 434.30p 1.24%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 321.00p 1.13%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 7,827.00p 1.11%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,402.00p 1.08%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 5,477.00p 0.83%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 392.00p 0.80%
Sage Group (SGE) 713.00p 0.78%

Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 1,062.00p -2.03%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 798.00p -1.85%
Barclays (BARC) 213.45p -1.39%
BT Group (BT.A) 312.55p -1.36%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,158.00p -1.28%
BP (BP.) 472.75p -1.20%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 388.80p -1.17%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,436.00p -1.02%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,578.00p -1.00%
DCC (DCC) 7,445.00p -1.00%