FTSE 100 movers: Fresnillo and Randgold buck the trend as miners retreat

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.6% to 7,373.58 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo was the standout gainer as HSBC lifted the stock ‘buy’ from ‘hold, referring to it as a “sector leader at a discount” after the shares fell 26% from their year-to-date peak of 1,825p.

Fresnillo and Randgold Resources were also benefiting from a rise in gold prices, as investors looked for a safe place to park their cash in ‘risk off’ trade.

BT was in the black, tracking broader gains for the telecommunications sector in Europe .

AstraZeneca was trading up after it and its global biologics research and development arm, MedImmune, announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved Fasenra (benralizumab) for the add-on maintenance treatment of patients with severe asthma aged 12 years and older, and with an eosinophilic phenotype.

Going the other way, heavily-weighted mining stocks were on the back foot as metals prices declined, with Glencore, Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto all in the red.

NMC Health retreated as Jefferies commented on the company’s capital markets day.

“Although the day was well-attended, we feel somewhat disappointed there was limited incremental info, which leaves narrow support for its current valuation. Our biggest concern remains potential underlying pressures on the base business into 18/19 with DRG in Dubai and new competition despite growth opportunities elsewhere and M&A potential,” the bank said.

Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,319.00p 2.81%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,167.00p 2.46%
BT Group (BT.A) 248.95p 2.13%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,125.00p 1.93%
SSE (SSE) 1,361.00p 1.34%
ITV (ITV) 151.80p 1.20%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,122.50p 0.99%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 5,007.00p 0.96%
Centrica (CNA) 166.60p 0.91%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 748.00p 0.74%

Fallers

NMC Health (NMC) 2,765.00p -3.08%
3i Group (III) 905.00p -2.69%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,734.00p -2.36%
Glencore (GLEN) 346.55p -2.31%
WPP (WPP) 1,262.00p -2.17%
Tesco (TSCO) 184.00p -2.15%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,424.50p -2.10%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,302.00p -2.08%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,360.00p -1.98%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,532.00p -1.67%