FTSE 100 movers: Barratt, retailers shine; Hikma drops
It was all about the retailers on Wednesday as a series of upbeat broker notes propelled the sector higher, helping to lift the FTSE 0.8% to 7,397.44 in afternoon trade.
Housebuilder Barratt Developments was the standout gainer after saying it expects pre-tax profit for the full year 2017 to be at the top end of current analyst estimates of between £675m and £733m and that completions will hit their highest level in nine years, coming in at around 17,350.
Marks & Spencer was lifted after Deutsche Bank upped its price target on the stock to 260p from 250p and Primark owner Associated British Foods was underpinned by an upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' at Citigroup.
Burberry was boosted by an upgrade to 'neutral' from 'underperform' by Credit Suisse which said the bear case is now behind us. "After being negative for over two years on the basis of a growth slowdown weighing on margins, we believe our bear thesis has largely played out," the bank said.
Next was a high riser as Investec upped its stance on the retailer to 'buy' from 'hold' and lifted the price target to 4,750p from 3,900p. It said that unlike its peer, Next has been actively managing its portfolio over the last 10 years, something that is being overlooked by investors preoccupied by short-term trading.
On the downside, Hikma Pharmaceuticals retreated on news that its generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's top-selling drug Advair is unlikely to be approved by the Prescription Drug User Free Act date. According to benefits manager Express Scripts, true generics to Advair Diskus may not reach the market until sometime in 2018.
ITV was in the red after it said advertising revenue fell in the first quarter and is expected to remain down for the first half, though production sales from its Studios arm and online growth were both strong.
BAE Systems was weaker despite saying it has started the year with good momentum and that trading is in line with its expectations.
Risers
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 616.50p 3.35%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,888.00p 2.78%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,040.50p 1.96%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,633.00p 1.94%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,434.00p 1.85%
Next (NXT) 4,408.00p 1.82%
Kingfisher (KGF) 348.10p 1.58%
Centrica (CNA) 203.00p 1.50%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 385.40p 1.42%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 273.50p 1.37%
Fallers
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,915.00p -3.23%
ITV (ITV) 197.20p -1.79%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 875.00p -1.69%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,160.00p -1.10%
Provident Financial (PFG) 3,212.00p -0.96%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,175.00p -0.91%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 2,468.00p -0.88%
BAE Systems (BA.) 637.50p -0.86%
Informa (INF) 651.00p -0.76%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,647.00p -0.66%