FTSE 100 movers: Aviva flies while Hikma sinks lower

The FTSE 100 was trading higher on Thursday afternoon, as investors digested the Bank of England's decision to cut interest rates for the first time since 20098 and bolster quantitative easing.

Insurance giant Aviva rallied as the insurer’s interim results for the six months to 30 June showed operating profit rising 13% to £1.325bn and operating earnings per share improving 1% to 22.4p.

The firm’s IFRS profit after tax was £201m, down from £545m in the first half of last year.

During the period, general insurance net written premiums were up 7% to £3.991bn, the life insurance value of new business increased 7% to £583m, its fund management operating profit grew 48% to £49m, and its UK Life assets under management were up 23% to £10.3bn.

“Our UK businesses delivered encouraging results,” said Aviva Group chief executive officer Mark Wilson.

“We are growing in the UK, we are investing in the UK. We like the UK.

“And we are also benefitting from Aviva's diversity, with 42% of our earnings coming from outside of the UK,” Wilson added.

Fellow insurers Prudential and RSA Insurance Group were also in the black.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals was under pressure after the drugmaker's overnight warning that delays to new US generic products would lower profits in the first half.

In a trading update for the first six months of the year that was released almost an hour after the London stock market closed on Wednesday, the FTSE 100 company said it expected core operating profit of its generics arm to be between $30m and $40m, compared to $46m in 2015.

It expects full-year revenue, including from its February acquisition of West-Ward Columbus, to be between $2bn and 2.1bn in constant currency, which reflects the growth across its three business segments of injectables, branded and generics.

Hikma said: “The revenue impact from the delay in certain new product approvals will be largely offset by higher contract manufacturing revenue.

Both SABMiller and BP sank in afternoon trading, as the stocks went ex-dividend on Thursday.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Aviva (AV.) 411.30p 6.83%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 644.80p 4.96%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,697.00p 3.73%
Prudential (PRU) 1,355.00p 3.51%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,967.50p 3.28%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,895.00p 3.19%
Intu Properties (INTU) 304.30p 3.15%
Kingfisher (KGF) 348.00p 2.99%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 211.10p 2.78%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 2,606.00p 2.68%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,264.00p -15.14%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 8,605.00p -4.18%
Next (NXT) 5,255.00p -1.59%
SABMiller (SAB) 4,347.00p -1.33%
GKN (GKN) 294.00p -0.54%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,416.00p -0.29%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 390.90p -0.03%
BT Group (BT.A) 408.60p 0.00%
ARM Holdings (ARM) 1,688.00p 0.06%
BP (BP.) 415.60p 0.14%