FTSE 100 movers: IAG flies higher; DS Smith slumps
London’s FTSE 100 was up 1.4% at 6,245.58 in afternoon trade on Thursday.
British Airways and Iberia parent IAG flew higher amid reports the UK was set to scrap quarantine plans for travellers arriving from as many as 75 countries. According to multiple reports, the government has effectively abandoned plans for air bridges between individual countries and will instead exempt a wide number of countries from any restrictions.
Associated British Foods rallied after a trading update. The company estimated full-year adjusted operating profit for Primark will decline from £913m to between £300m and £350m due to the impact of the pandemic, but said trading at its reopened stores has been "encouraging". In addition, the group’s grocery business saw turnover rise by 9% in the third quarter.
Ladbrokes owner GVC Holdings was higher as it backed calls by the House of Lords for an urgent review of gambling legislation.
On the downside, packaging company DS Smith slumped as it reported a 5% increase in full-year profit as strong e-commerce demand offset weaker demand from industrial customers, but a dip in revenue amid weak paper pricing in Europe and North America. Peers Smurfit Kappa and Mondi also lost ground.
Sainsburys was also in the red as Berenberg said: "With the shares re-rating 11% from the May lows, despite no improvement in the economic outlook, we believe this provides an attractive point to sell."
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,247.68 1.46%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,443.23 1.48%
techMARK (TASX) 3,762.44 1.11%
FTSE 100 - Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 234.10p 6.80%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,077.00p 5.73%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,365.00p 4.97%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 125.30p 4.90%
Barclays (BARC) 118.96p 4.77%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 122.50p 4.75%
Evraz (EVR) 291.80p 4.66%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 657.40p 4.32%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 387.95p 4.20%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 779.60p 4.17%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 296.70p -6.90%
National Grid (NG.) 934.20p -5.73%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,592.00p -2.48%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 199.80p -1.67%
Homeserve (HSV) 1,268.00p -1.32%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,999.00p -1.19%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,388.00p -0.96%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,488.50p -0.57%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,273.00p -0.55%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,035.00p -0.44%