FTSE 100 movers: Babcock gains on update but Diageo drops

London's FTSE 100 was down 0.2% to 7,260.51 in afternoon trade on Wednesday as the pound gained ground after encouraging retail sales data, with the FOMC statement due after after the close very much in focus.

Babcock was the standout gainer as it reiterated its guidance for the year and said trading has been in line with its expectations. In an update for the period from 1 April, the group said revenue visibility has continued to improve, with 89% of revenue now in place for 2017/18 and around 57% for 2018/19.

Meanwhile, the order book and bid pipeline of opportunities are stable and continue to provide the group with the confidence to grow revenue as expected over the medium term.

B&Q owner Kingfisher rallied it posted better profits than were expected for the first half of the year but remained cautious on the second half backdrop in the UK and France.

Marks & Spencer and Next were also on the front foot after data from the Office for National Statistics showed a spike higher on the back of inflationary pressures and increased sales volumes in August. Retail sales volumes increased 1% month-on-month in August, much higher than the 0.2% consensus forecast and an improvement on the 0.7% revised figure from a month earlier.

Compared to last year, retail sales were 2.8% higher versus expectation of a 1.4% rise and up from 1.7% in the prior month, the Office for National Statistics said.

On the downside, Diageo was in the red as it said it remained “well set up” to deliver in line with its own expectations but warned that the first-half organic net sales growth rate will be hit by the later timing of Chinese New Year and by the expected impact of the highway ban in India.

Risers

Babcock International Group (BAB) 849.50p 6.19%
Kingfisher (KGF) 311.50p 5.09%
ITV (ITV) 162.80p 3.17%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 270.50p 3.17%
WPP (WPP) 1,379.00p 2.30%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 347.70p 2.26%
Sage Group (SGE) 715.50p 1.85%
Next (NXT) 5,060.00p 1.65%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 599.00p 1.53%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,671.00p 1.30%

Fallers

Diageo (DGE) 2,438.50p -2.30%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 597.00p -1.57%
Barclays (BARC) 185.95p -1.25%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 65.28p -1.09%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,761.00p -0.96%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,768.00p -0.95%
GKN (GKN) 344.80p -0.86%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,519.00p -0.83%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,218.00p -0.81%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,952.00p -0.81%