Sector movers: Auto suppliers, healthcare and housebuilders slip
The automobiles & parts dropped into a lower gear on Wednesday, along with healthcare and housebuilders, but the tobacco and pharma sectors were looking hale and hearty.
Hitting car makers and their suppliers around Europe was a warning that new car registrations had crashed. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, new car registrations fell 23.5% in September, wiping out much of the 31.2% surge in the previous month. The ACEA attributed the slump to the new worldwide harmonised light vehicle test procedure, or WLTP, which was introduced on 1 September after it emerged that Volkswagon had fitted software enabling diesel cars to cheat emission tests.
Europe’s leading car producers also warned of surging costs if the UK quits the European Union without a deal.
Healthcare investors were feeling queasy despite the strong results from Johnson & Johnson overnight that had lifted sentiment in the sector. However, hospital operator Mediclinic revealed weaker revenues from the Middle East, lower admissions in South Africa and softer margins in Switzerland. Following the update, Spire Healthcare, in which Mediclinic holds a 29.9% stake, also lost ground. ConvaTec, UDG and Smith & Nephew were also in the red.
Housebuilders subsided after FTSE 250 peer Crest Nicholson said the market environment for new homes in London and at higher price points in the South of England has been more difficult than previously anticipated. The company warned that it now expects pre-tax profit for the year to the end of October to come in between £170m and £190m, which is below the £207m reported last year and consensus expectations of £204m. Larger peers Berkeley Group and Persimmon, which have a large presence in the South East, were dragged down.
Going higher, tobacco bounced back after its recent sell-off. British American Tobacco had hit a near five-year low earlier in the week and investors spied value, sending its shares up almost 4%. Rival Imperial Brands, which has not fallen so far, was up less than 1%.
Top performing sectors so far today
Tobacco 37,381.40 +2.64%
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 14,415.29 +1.46%
Real Estate Investment Trusts 2,863.03 +0.78%
Food & Drug Retailers 3,649.80 +0.74%
Real Estate Investment & Services 2,503.57 +0.57%
Bottom performing sectors so far today
Automobiles & Parts 7,740.22 -3.63%
Health Care Equipment & Services 6,674.10 -2.60%
Leisure Goods 8,305.60 -2.20%
General Retailers 2,195.66 -1.53%
Household Goods & Home Construction 16,208.25 -1.51%
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,044.55 -0.21%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,002.76 -0.77%
techMARK (TASX) 3,335.56 -0.20%
FTSE 100 - Risers
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,284.00p 3.38%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 314.70p 3.05%
SEGRO (SGRO) 627.00p 2.82%
Pearson (PSON) 835.40p 2.20%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 4,275.00p 1.86%
Just Eat (JE.) 624.80p 1.53%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 492.08p 1.51%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 5,850.00p 1.51%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,794.00p 1.50%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,471.00p 1.46%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
easyJet (EZJ) 1,150.50p -4.96%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,517.00p -3.50%
WPP (WPP) 1,028.50p -3.25%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,339.00p -3.15%
BAE Systems (BA.) 560.00p -2.78%
Ferguson (FERG) 5,502.00p -2.77%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,004.00p -2.77%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,306.00p -2.76%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,198.00p -2.70%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 164.35p -2.55%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 440.40p 4.86%
Drax Group (DRX) 403.60p 4.56%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 492.00p 3.93%
Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 1,698.80p 3.28%
Essentra (ESNT) 392.20p 3.26%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 582.00p 3.01%
Renishaw (RSW) 4,280.00p 2.84%
Provident Financial (PFG) 557.60p 2.65%
Assura (AGR) 55.70p 2.58%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 891.00p 2.53%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Mediclinic International (MDC) 394.00p -17.00%
Inchcape (INCH) 536.50p -12.98%
Softcat (SCT) 700.00p -11.50%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 296.40p -8.24%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 118.50p -7.71%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 144.80p -7.30%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 43.04p -6.92%
Just Group (JUST) 78.50p -5.93%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 622.60p -5.26%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,789.00p -4.99%