FTSE 100 movers: Gold miners shine; travel stocks slump
London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 6,103.93 in afternoon trade on Monday.
Travel stocks were under the cosh amid concerns about a second wave of Covid-19, after Ryanair warned this was the airline’s "biggest fear right now". The UK government's imposition of a 14-day quarantine on travellers returning from Spain also dented the sector, with British Airways and Iberia parent IAG and InterContinental Hotels both firmly in the red.
Education publisher Pearson was under the cosh after Goldman Sachs and Barclays cut their price targets on the stock. Credit Suisse lifted its price target on the stock to 500p from 445p but said the first-half results were "clearly weaker than we or the market was expecting". The bank also cut its estimate for 2020 operating profit by 2%.
Engine maker Rolls-Royce was weaker following reports over the weekend that it is considering selling its ITP Aero division to private equity. It was also knocked lower after ratings agency Moody’s downgraded its credit rating to junk.
The ratings agency said it expects substantial cash outflows in 2020 and 2021, resulting in materially increased leverage, in excess of its previous expectations.
HSBC was in the red following a report it is under pressure to consider selling its US retail bank to boost returns and address international tensions with China.
On the upside, precious metals miners Polymetal and Fresnillo were the standout gainers as gold prices surged to a fresh all-time high amid worries about the pandemic and souring relations between the US and China.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,922.00p 6.48%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,239.00p 3.99%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,059.50p 2.96%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,520.00p 2.19%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 8,332.00p 2.03%
Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 673.00p 1.85%
Croda International (CRDA) 5,830.00p 1.82%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 220.10p 1.57%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,735.80p 1.52%
Glencore (GLEN) 185.50p 1.48%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 183.30p -7.70%
Pearson (PSON) 503.60p -7.53%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 99.78p -4.38%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 258.10p -3.73%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 3,629.00p -3.69%
Sage Group (SGE) 725.00p -3.10%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 354.40p -2.86%
BT Group (BT.A) 109.25p -2.76%
British Land Company (BLND) 349.40p -2.54%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,411.00p -2.35%