FTSE 100 movers: Paddy Power lifted by deal chatter; housebuilders drop
London's FTSE 100 was down 0.2% to 7,405.49 in quiet trade on Friday, with many traders probably too busy looking for online bargains to care.
Bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair was the standout gainer following a report that it has held talks to explore a possible tie-up with CrownBet. The report, by Reuters, followed confirmation earlier in the day from William Hill that it was in "very preliminary" discussions with Australia's Crown Resorts about a possible merger of their local online businesses.
Informa was on the front foot as Liberum upped the stock to 'buy' from 'hold' and lifted the price target to 855p from 675p. The brokerage said Informa is delivering on its promises, its events business is doing well and there are fewer concerns over the academic business.
Experian was boosted by an upgrade to 'neutral' at Exane BNP Paribas.
On the downside, housebuilders Barratt Developments, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey were on the back foot after Chancellor Philip Hammond announced on Wednesday a range of new housing policies, including more funds for smaller housebuilders, a probe into potential holding of land by major housebuilders and a stamp duty cut for first-time buyers.
Retailer Next was weaker as it took part in Black Friday for the first time despite CEO Simon Wolfson having previously said it "doesn’t make sense to get involved".
B&Q owner Kingfisher was also in the red, while Babcock retreated for the second day in a row as it looks set to be demoted from the FTSE 100.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,835.00p 3.51%
Informa (INF) 772.50p 2.79%
3i Group (III) 933.00p 2.08%
Experian (EXPN) 1,578.00p 1.68%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,349.10p 1.28%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,099.00p 1.01%
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 361.70p 0.98%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,363.00p 0.96%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 272.00p 0.89%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 742.60p 0.88%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 605.64p -2.47%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,590.00p -2.30%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 513.00p -2.29%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 193.93p -1.51%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 672.25p -1.50%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,683.00p -1.26%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,111.00p -1.17%
Next (NXT) 4,336.00p -1.12%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 419.10p -0.95%
Kingfisher (KGF) 317.69p -0.94%