FTSE 100 movers: Whitbread falls after update; GVC gains

London’s FTSE 100 was down 1.6% at 6,187.66 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.

Premier Inn owner Whitbread was in the red as it said UK first quarter like-for-like sales slumped, reflecting the full impact of the coronavirus lockdown although it reported good summer demand for tourist destinations. Like-for-like sales for the three months to May 28 fell 79.8% across Whitbread’s British hotel and pub estate, while total group sales fell 79.4%.

HSBC was under pressure following reports the bank will cut more than a third of the 678 jobs at its French investment banking business as part of its wider push to slash costs.

HSBC's French union said on its website the 255 cuts would be voluntary but that if there were not enough takers there would be "layoffs for economic reasons", Reuters reported.

On the upside, Ladbrokes owner GVC Holdings was the top performer as Deutsche Bank lifted its price target on the stock to 1,040p from 930p.

It said it expects the first-half trading statement on 16 July to be positive.

"Retail will be a significant drag on H1 growth, given three months of store closures, but sports betting held up better than expected, and has recovered strongly with the resumption of racing and football in June," DB said.

"Online gaming has seen spectacular growth with the imposition of a lockdown. Overall, we see group H1 revenues down 12%, but online gaming should show double-digit organic growth, despite the pandemic."

FTSE 100 - Risers

GVC Holdings (GVC) 810.20p 2.69%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,468.50p 2.55%
Aviva (AV.) 287.70p 1.52%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 120.00p 0.63%
Evraz (EVR) 297.70p 0.61%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,412.00p 0.58%
M&G (MNG) 171.15p 0.56%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 428.50p 0.35%
Tesco (TSCO) 219.60p 0.32%
CRH (CRH) 2,919.00p 0.31%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Whitbread (WTB) 2,325.00p -4.71%
Informa (INF) 452.20p -4.19%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,136.50p -3.77%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 566.80p -3.57%
Pennon Group (PNN) 1,068.00p -3.39%
British Land Company (BLND) 389.10p -3.33%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,546.00p -3.27%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 396.10p -3.07%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,603.60p -2.84%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 280.10p -2.81%