FTSE 100 movers: DS Smith surges on deal speculation; StanChart retreats

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 6,683.98 in afternoon trade on Thursday as investors mulled over a raft of corporate releases.

Paper and packaging group DS Smith surged to the top of the index following reports that rival Mondi is considering a £5bn takeover.

Evraz was also a high riser after the Russian steelmaker said full-year net profit increased to $858m from $365m in 2019.

Anglo American gained as a boom in commodity prices and the easing of Covid curbs in the second half helped the miner to report better-than-expected annual profits and lift its dividend.

On the downside, Hikma Pharmaceuticals fell after its full-year results, as its guidance for 2021 generics revenue fell short of analyst expectations.

Standard Chartered lost ground after it said annual profits more than halved on bad loan impairments due to the coronavirus pandemic, as it resumed dividend payments and announced a share buyback. The Asia-focused bank said pre-tax profits fell 57% to $1.61bn, below the $1.85bn average of bank-compiled analyst forecasts. Credit impairments more than doubled to $2.3bn.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Smith (DS) (SMDS) 407.40p 6.09%
Evraz (EVR) 595.80p 5.49%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,988.50p 5.17%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 115.25p 2.99%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 441.00p 2.73%
BP (BP.) 306.35p 2.53%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,886.00p 1.86%
Prudential (PRU) 1,456.50p 1.78%
Informa (INF) 560.40p 1.74%
British Land Company (BLND) 528.80p 1.69%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,290.00p -5.25%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 486.70p -4.46%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,834.00p -3.52%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,455.00p -3.42%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,218.00p -3.02%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,703.00p -2.21%
SSE (SSE) 1,356.50p -2.06%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,233.00p -1.95%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,128.00p -1.94%
Fresnillo (FRES) 947.20p -1.93%