FTSE 100 movers: JD Sports boosted by Nike results; travel stocks fall
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 7,132.19 in afternoon trade on Friday.
JD Sports was the standout gainer on the index following well-received fourth-quarter results from Nike in the US. Peel Hunt reiterated its ‘buy’ rating on the shares after the Nike update. The broker said Nike’s numbers "read well for JD".
"We suspect that trading has been solid for JD since restart 3 and that forecasts are underpinned," said analysts Jonathan Pritchard and John Stevenson.
Irish building materials group CRH and equipment rental firm Ashtead, both of which do business in the US, rallied on news of the infrastructure deal agreed across the pond. Ashtead and CRH were also lifted by positive broker notes.
Credit Suisse hiked its price target on outperform-rated Ashtead to 6,000p from 4,100p, "to reflect, primarily, higher long-term growth opportunity” given the company’s “positioning in attractive end markets". Meanwhile, Berenberg upped CRH to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’.
WPP was also on the front foot after an upgrade to ‘neutral’ from ‘underperform’ at Credit Suisse.
InterContinental Hotels, Premier Inn owner Whitbread, engine maker Rolls-Royce and British Airways owner IAG all fell after the government’s latest travel announcement. On Thursday, 16 destinations were added to the travel green list, including the Balearic Islands, Madeira, Malta and Barbados. The government also added the Dominican Republic, Eritrea, Haiti, Mongolia, Tunisia and Uganda to its red list.
FTSE 100 - Risers
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 945.40p 3.59%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 3,779.00p 2.47%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,420.00p 2.26%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,988.00p 2.19%
WPP (WPP) 1,000.00p 2.08%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,158.00p 2.03%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,752.00p 1.74%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,424.00p 1.72%
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 5,982.00p 1.67%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,456.00p 1.53%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 13,915.00p -3.17%
M&G (MNG) 234.30p -2.82%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 122.50p -2.23%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,935.00p -2.12%
Entain (ENT) 1,810.50p -2.03%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,193.00p -1.75%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 188.96p -1.68%
Royal Mail (RMG) 580.80p -1.39%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 106.34p -1.34%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,379.00p -0.99%