FTSE 100 movers: Flutter rises, NMC Health dives

London's FTSE 100 was up by 0.39% at 7,570.07 in afternoon trade on Thursday, with Flutter Entertainment leading the index higher.

SSE was in the green after Deutsche Bank analysts hiked their price target for the stock from 1,300p to 1,400p, amid a swathe of upgrades for utilities and other defensive stocks.

With the sector on track to outperform in the calendar year, analysts commented that their high level sector framework suggested that there was more growth to come from European utilities, given low bond yields and robust medium-term earnings growth.

Down at the other end of the index, Abu Dhabi-based healthcare operator NMC Health tumbled after on Wednesday reaffirming its guidance for 2019 and 2020 and hitting back at a damning report by research firm Muddy Waters, insisting that its accusations were "unfounded".

The day after announcing the departure of chief executive John Fallon, Pearson lost ground as Barclays cut their price target for the education publisher from 690p to 620p, with analysts citing concerns about succession and the challenges in college courseware.

"For a new CEO, there are no easy fixes here – either through investment to drive innovation or new commercial tactics. But we imagine that a new CEO would want to have the flexibility to try one or both of these, which could clearly have a negative impact on short-term forecasts," said analysts.

Finally, shares of travel firm TUI were hit by a downgrade to ‘hold’ at Berenberg, where analysts said the travel operator was "making a strategic error in pursuing further growth rather than focusing on its vertically integrated offering".

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,570.07 0.39%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 9,140.00p 2.49%
3i Group (III) 1,134.50p 2.07%
Kingfisher (KGF) 219.60p 1.95%
Glencore (GLEN) 238.10p 1.67%
British Land Company (BLND) 612.40p 1.59%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 201.70p 1.36%
SSE (SSE) 1,461.00p 1.28%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 7,573.00p 1.24%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,271.00p 1.20%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,327.50p 1.15%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

NMC Health (NMC) 1,500.50p -13.22%
Pearson (PSON) 618.00p -5.65%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 946.20p -3.23%
Just Eat (JE.) 786.80p -1.97%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,986.00p -1.83%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,153.00p -1.60%
Evraz (EVR) 401.70p -1.16%
Meggitt (MGGT) 635.00p -1.15%
Fresnillo (FRES) 578.60p -1.13%
Barclays (BARC) 183.12p -1.08%