FTSE 100 movers: Ocado lifted by Kantar data; housebuilders lose ground

London's FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 7,190.15 in afternoon trade on Tuesday as sterling was boosted by hopes of a Brexit deal.

Housebuilders Berkeley Group and Taylor Wimpey were in the red after FTSE 250 peer Bellway posted a rise in full-year profit amid strong demand but warned over margins.

On the upside, Ocado was the top performer after data from market research firm Kantar showed that sales rose 13.3% in the 12 weeks to 6 October, while its market share ticked up to 1.4% from 1.2% in the same period a year ago.

"Online specialist Ocado continued its run as Britain’s fastest-growing supermarket - a position it’s held since May 2019," said Kantar.

Morrisons did not fare so well, however, as the Kantar data showed its sales fell 1.8% during the 12-week period, meaning it underperformed Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda.

Whitbread was on the rise after UBS upgraded its stance on shares of the Premier Inn owner to 'buy' from 'neutral', saying they present an attractive entry point despite worries about UK revenue per available room (RevPar).

While it acknowledged that the risk to UK RevPar and earnings in the near term is to the downside at the current share price of around 4,200p, it said this implies a 10% fall in RevPar in 2020 which it reckons is too conservative. UBS has pencilled a much more modest decline of 3%.

Banks rallied amid hopes of a Brexit deal, with Lloyds and RBS both trading higher.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,337.50p 2.69%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 59.09p 2.25%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 219.90p 2.18%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 910.40p 2.09%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 838.40p 1.97%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,250.00p 1.92%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,842.00p 1.86%
ITV (ITV) 130.60p 1.83%
British Land Company (BLND) 601.60p 1.83%
SSE (SSE) 1,304.00p 1.76%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Fresnillo (FRES) 620.60p -2.18%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,275.00p -2.08%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,641.60p -1.99%
Evraz (EVR) 409.60p -1.94%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 159.45p -1.91%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,652.80p -1.86%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,040.00p -1.82%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 5,983.00p -1.81%
Prudential (PRU) 1,442.96p -1.67%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 200.90p -1.37%