FTSE 100 movers: Flutter flies higher; Sainsbury's dented by falling sales

London's FTSE 100 was up 0.7% at 7,614.36 in afternoon trade on Wednesday, with the pound weaker as investors mulled disappointing services data.

Shares of Flutter Entertainment - formerly Paddy Power Betfair - surged, with traders pointing to speculation about a possible buyout. According to the Financial Times' Alphaville column, talk of a buyout/take private was driving the share gains.

"We don't have any name connected to that, to be clear, though private equity would be an obvious candidate," it said. "Blackstone's Merlin bid suggests there's a reasonable amount of cash available to managements who feel the public markets are undervaluing them."

JD Sports was also on the rise as it expressed confidence that it will at least meet current consensus market expectations for full-year headline pre-tax profit. In a statement ahead of its annual general meeting, the retailer said it had continued to achieve "encouraging" like-for-like sales growth in its core sports fashion in the UK and internationally.

On the downside, Sainsbury's lost ground as the supermarket chain posted a drop in first-quarter sales and warned that retail markets remain "highly competitive".

Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The latest dip in sales at Sainsbury isn’t a complete surprise, things have been difficult for a while, and last year made for a slightly tougher comparison.

"With disappointing weather and no Royal Wedding to heat up activity at the tills, it was going to be even more of a challenge to deliver growth."

FTSE 100 - Risers

Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 6,780.00p 10.53%
Halma (HLMA) 2,094.00p 3.15%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 814.20p 2.65%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 132.04p 2.55%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,221.50p 2.52%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 616.40p 2.32%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 551.00p 2.23%
Fresnillo (FRES) 883.11p 2.21%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,964.50p 2.21%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 485.74p 2.11%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 2,211.50p -2.36%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 196.90p -1.30%
Glencore (GLEN) 276.40p -1.11%
BP (BP.) 550.00p -1.06%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 913.40p -1.02%
Centrica (CNA) 89.26p -0.76%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,464.00p -0.65%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,578.50p -0.56%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,583.50p -0.44%
Experian (EXPN) 2,431.00p -0.37%