FTSE 100 movers: Centrica shines on Jefferies upgrade; housebuilders retreat

London's FTSE 100 was down 0.3% to 7,716.25 in afternoon trade on Tuesday as investors were left disappointed by the lack of detail in the US-North Korea agreement, although UK jobs data came in pretty solid.

British Gas owner Centrica was the standout gainer as Jefferies upped the stock to 'buy' from 'hold' and lifted its price target to 165p from 140p.

"While the stock has been in value territory for the last six months, we have remained on the sidelines with Centrica due to subdued earnings momentum. We now see material earnings upgrades as likely with the recent rally in power, gas and oil prices," the bank said.

On the downside, housebuilders Barratt Developments, Berkeley Group and Persimmon were all in the red as FTSE 250 peer Crest Nicholson posted a drop in half-year pre-tax profit and warned that margins for the year would come in towards the lower end of its guidance range, squeezed by cost pressures.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "The read-across to the rest of the sector should see some estimates for growth trimmed and 2017’s outperformance in share price terms is unlikely to be repeated, thanks to higher costs and slower growth in house prices.

"But the steady increase in payouts mean that the shares will continue to remain in demand, but this time from income investors rather than growth chasers."

FTSE 100 - Risers

Centrica (CNA) 149.55p 3.42%
Evraz (EVR) 553.00p 2.98%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 558.20p 2.69%
Kingfisher (KGF) 311.90p 2.36%
Old Mutual (OML) 221.90p 1.70%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 302.00p 1.44%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 844.60p 1.42%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 2,015.00p 1.41%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 786.20p 1.24%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,955.00p 1.19%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 1,819.00p -2.89%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 563.80p -2.63%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,205.00p -2.32%
Glencore (GLEN) 380.55p -2.17%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,922.00p -2.08%
Mondi (MNDI) 2,090.00p -1.83%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,072.50p -1.83%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,815.00p -1.57%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,571.50p -1.51%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,365.00p -1.46%