FTSE 100 movers: M&S recovers; Vodafone boosted by upgrade
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 7,274.35 in afternoon trade on Friday as investors digested Prime Minister Theresa May’s resignation, with sentiment underpinned by signs that US President Trump was softening his stance a little on China.
Marks & Spencer was on the front foot following losses earlier in the week after it announced a discounted rights issue and said full-year pre-tax profits declined 10% to £523.2m. Adjusting for exceptional items, including a £222m charge to reflect shop closures, pre-tax profit rose £17.8m to £84.6m.
Informa rallied as the publishing and events company said it traded well in the first four months of 2019 and was confident about meeting expectations for annual results.
Vodafone gained ground after an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ at HSBC following an 11% drop in the share price in the last three months.
"Vodafone’s decision to rebase to €0.09/share combined with the stock’s attendant fall has taken the yield to 6.4%. We regard this as an attractive entry point, especially as a FY21E pay-out ratio of 60% (post-spectrum) will be the lowest at Vodafone in over a decade," HSBC said.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Evraz (EVR) 608.20p 3.68%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 250.90p 3.21%
Informa (INF) 793.00p 2.99%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,508.00p 2.87%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,267.00p 2.81%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,268.00p 2.65%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 126.58p 2.64%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,795.00p 2.14%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 796.20p 2.13%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 263.65p 1.99%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 5,692.00p -1.56%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 473.50p -1.11%
Ferguson (FERG) 5,148.00p -1.00%
Fresnillo (FRES) 725.60p -0.98%
Centrica (CNA) 92.76p -0.90%
BAE Systems (BA.) 449.90p -0.68%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 884.00p -0.67%
Carnival (CCL) 3,927.00p -0.53%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,813.00p -0.19%
BT Group (BT.A) 198.18p -0.17%