FTSE 100 movers: Barclays bounces back; Pearson makes bleak reading

Barclays shares led the FTSE 100 risers list after a better-than-expected half year result that saw pre-tax profits fall by 21% and PPI mis-selling costs go up by another £400m.

The market shrugged off the numbers, noting that core operations in the UK returned a profit for the period and the shares were up 7.6% in midday trade.

This led other financials to curry favour with investors. Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Life, Legal & General, Schroders and Prudential all rose.

Pearson led the fallers after half year sales at the educational publisher declined further than expected.

Sales decreased by £131m in headline terms to £1.86bn primarily due to the expected weakness in assessment revenues in the US and UK, which are weighted towards the first half of the year and the phasing of both gross sales and returns in North American Higher Education courseware.

Consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser also fell sharply after posting a drop in first-half pre-tax profit but a rise in revenue, as it reaffirmed its full-year net revenue target at the lower end of its guidance range

Pre-tax profit came in at £751m, down from £921m in the first half of last year, although net revenue on a like-for-like basis was up 5% to £4.57bn.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,706.87 -0.21%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Barclays (BARC) 157.65p 7.61%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,050.00p 3.24%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 193.30p 2.82%
Standard Life (SL.) 298.20p 2.05%
Sky (SKY) 922.50p 2.05%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 204.70p 2.04%
Schroders (SDR) 2,581.00p 1.98%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,912.00p 1.95%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 979.00p 1.71%
Prudential (PRU) 1,329.50p 1.68%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Pearson (PSON) 873.50p -9.95%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 7,086.00p -4.73%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 806.50p -2.95%
National Grid (NG.) 1,079.50p -1.95%
Relx plc (REL) 1,428.00p -1.92%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 8,700.00p -1.69%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,619.00p -1.66%
SSE (SSE) 1,516.00p -1.62%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,953.00p -1.59%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,021.50p -1.46%