FTSE 100 movers: Rolls-Royce retreats; Ferguson gains

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.6% at 6,066.86 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.

Engine maker Rolls-Royce, GKN owner Melrose and British Airways parent IAG were all trading lower.

Morrisons was in the red after a downgrade to ‘underweight’ from ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan, which said the big four UK supermarkets are unlikely to benefit from spending transferring to in-home from out-of-home as they continue to lose market share.

Customers are trading down during the economic downturn and discounter momentum is picking up again, the bank added.

Shoppers are continuing to shift to online and convenience and Brexit will add to costs, JP Morgan said, adding that Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury's had changed management and Walmart was looking at how to divest Asda.

BAE Systems was also weaker despite an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ at Jefferies.

On the upside, plumbing and heating products distributor Ferguson was the top performer, closely followed by credit-checking firm Experian.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ferguson (FERG) 7,616.00p 2.56%
Experian (EXPN) 3,067.00p 2.44%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 580.80p 2.33%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,576.50p 2.20%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,662.00p 2.07%
3i Group (III) 968.60p 1.96%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,752.00p 1.59%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,316.00p 1.54%
British Land Company (BLND) 356.10p 1.31%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,111.00p 1.14%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 186.10p -8.46%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 119.70p -4.39%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 128.55p -3.64%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 172.40p -3.20%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 313.70p -2.82%
BP (BP.) 251.90p -2.74%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,057.20p -2.20%
Barclays (BARC) 100.76p -1.83%
BAE Systems (BA.) 521.60p -1.81%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,014.20p -1.78%