FTSE 100 movers: Supermarkets sizzle on Goldman note; miners drop
The FTSE 100 was down 0.1% to 7,329.93 in afternoon trade on Tuesday as investors mulled disappointing services data and deadlock in Brexit talks, with broker notes providing much of the action.
Tesco and Morrisons were the standout gainers on Tuesday as Goldman Sachs upgraded its ratings on the stocks. It lifted Tesco to 'buy from 'sell' and Morrisons to 'neutral'.
"Competitive intensity is still high, but multiple data points suggest 2018 will see greater industry margin expansion than 2017," GS said.
Sainsbury also tagged along for the ride as Goldman lifted its price target on the stock but kept the rating at 'sell'.
Standard Chartered was also boosted by an upgrade, as JPMorgan Cazenove moved the stock to 'overweight' from 'neutral' and upped the price target to 900p from 800p. It also included StanChart in its EU bank top picks for 2018, saying it sees potential for 2018-20 earnings per share to surprise positively versus consensus.
Housebuilder Persimmon was up after an upgrade to 'buy' at Canaccord Genuity, which said it expects another solid year for the sector in 2018.
"While momentum has slowed in some macro drivers, such as house price inflation, consumer confidence and sales rates, the overall backdrop remains conducive for the sector to deliver another year of good profitability, cash-returns and returns. We believe the sector will benefit from continued volume growth with good margins and benefit from an advantageous land market."
Going the other way, miners Glencore, Rio Tinto, Anglo and Antofagasta were all lower as copper price retreated.
Plumbing and heating group Ferguson - formerly known as Wolseley - was under the cosh despite proposing a 10% dividend increase and announcing a £500m share buyback after a year of strong profits growth.
Risers
Tesco (TSCO) 203.50p 4.28%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 242.10p 3.95%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 751.30p 3.31%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 220.40p 2.99%
Next (NXT) 4,501.00p 2.20%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,689.00p 2.16%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,619.21p 2.07%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 582.00p 1.75%
Hammerson (HMSO) 531.50p 1.53%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 206.90p 1.32%
Fallers
Worldpay Group (WPG) 411.10p -2.51%
Glencore (GLEN) 333.70p -2.36%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,467.50p -2.05%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,359.00p -1.88%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 884.50p -1.67%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 677.00p -1.46%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 431.51p -1.35%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,699.00p -1.16%
Barclays (BARC) 192.05p -1.13%
Ferguson (FERG) 5,422.50p -1.05%