FTSE 100 movers: Tesco leads downside after profits slide

Tesco led the downside after its first-half trading profits fell 39.4% at constant exchange rates to £937m. Tesco's chairman Sir Richard Broadbent announced his own succession process had begun, as the company's UK like-for-like sales fell 4.6%. Although its pension deficit surged from £2.6bn to £3.4bn, and net debt increased by £0.5bn year-on-year to £7.5bn, the company later ruled out a rights issue.

Sector peers Sainsbury and Morrison also slid to the bottom of the pile.

Tullow Oil's shares sank after the African explorer's first well in Kenya's Kerio Basin had to be plugged and abandoned.

Consumer goods group Unilever was another heavy faller after reporting weaker third-quarter sales growth as economic conditions were putting consumers under pressure.

A host of stocks also traded lower after going ex-dividend, including aerospace groups BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, medical devices maker Smith & Nephew, bookie William Hill and x-ray scanner maker Smiths Group.

Shares in British Airways and Iberia owner IAG soared after Credit Suisse gave it a higher target price of 618p, compared to 587p previously.

Shares in drug group Glaxosmithkline climbed thanks in part to an upgrade from equal to overweight from Barclays Capital.

FTSE 100 - Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG)
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,574.00p +2.06%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,399.00p +1.60%
Royal Mail (RMG) 455.00p +1.40%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,989.00p +1.27%
Barclays (BARC) 225.85p +1.10%
Old Mutual (OML) 183.70p +0.99%
Diageo (DGE) 1,768.00p +0.97%
CRH (CRH) 1,367.00p +0.89%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 377.60p +0.88%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Tesco (TSCO) 168.45p -7.95%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 152.00p -3.74%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 232.60p -3.73%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 509.00p -3.51%
Unilever (ULVR) 2,453.00p -3.20%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,159.00p -1.95%
BAE Systems (BA.) 442.00p -1.62%
St James's Place (STJ) 679.50p -1.59%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,109.00p -1.46%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,337.50p -1.40%