FTSE 100 movers: AB Foods surges; Hikma hit by downgrade

London’s FTSE 100 was flat at 7,420.37in afternoon trade on Tuesday.

Primark owner AB Foods was the standout gainer after saying it was returning another £500m to shareholders as it reported double-digit growth on both the top and bottom lines in the last financial year.

Beazley was also in the back as the specialist insurer announced a positive trading performance for the first nine months of 2023, with a 9% increase in written insurance premiums and a 26% increase in net written insurance premiums.

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group rallied as it launched a £80m share buyback.

Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey both advanced in tandem with Persimmon, after the housebuilder raised its guidance for new home completions despite a 37% slump in finished builds in the third quarter and a significant fall in its order book.

The sector was also likely boosted by the latest Halifax data, which showed that UK house prices rose in October amid constrained supply, after six consecutive monthly falls.

Miners were on the back foot, with Anglo American, Glencore and Antofagasta all down.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals fell after Jefferies downgraded the shares to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ and cut the price target to 1,940p from 2,125p.

The bank said that following Hikma’s nine-month trading statement, it sees limited near-term catalysts, a tough 1H'24 base comp, protracted compounding ramp up, and an earnings per share decline in 2024, with lower expected contribution from gXyrem.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,252.00p 6.93%
Beazley (BEZ) 561.50p 5.94%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 840.00p 3.83%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 547.40p 3.28%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 195.80p 3.16%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 452.90p 2.98%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 224.50p 2.51%
Sage Group (SGE) 981.20p 1.93%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 115.30p 1.90%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 688.40p 1.83%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 2,140.50p -3.49%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,315.50p -2.52%
Glencore (GLEN) 433.40p -1.95%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,701.00p -1.90%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,768.50p -1.80%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 623.20p -1.39%
Centrica (CNA) 152.45p -1.26%
BP (BP.) 485.45p -1.23%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,275.00p -1.12%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 13,520.00p -1.10%