FTSE 100 movers: BT Group bounces; Melrose goes ex-div

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.9% at 7,728.29 in afternoon trade on Thursday, as we head towards the long Easter weekend.

BT Group was the standout gainer on the index. Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, noted that the share price has been slowly creeping higher this year, up by 33%.

"BT customers have seen the cost of landlines and broadband go up to help cover the extra costs incurred by the business including energy and labour charges, but the telecoms group is far from firing on all cylinders," she said.

Barclays was also in the black. Earlier, it emerged that US proxy advisor Glass Lewis has recommended shareholders vote against the bank’s pay proposals for its top executives.

In February, the lender announced it was docking the pay of some senior executives by a combined £1m after the blue chip was fined by US authorities.

The 2022 bonus for chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan was cut by £403,000, while group finance director Anna Cross was docked £166,000. Former finance chief Tushar Morzaria, who retired last April, also had a long-term award reduced.

But in a report on Thursday, Glass Lewis argued that a near-£3m long-term award which vested last year for 2020 for Morzaria should also have been reduced, "to better reflect the financial and reputational impact of the risk and control issues over the period".

On the downside, Melrose, Reckitt, Convatec and Smiths Group all fell as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

FTSE 100 - Risers

BT Group (BT.A) 150.15p 2.98%
Entain (ENT) 1,291.00p 2.95%
Fresnillo (FRES) 794.80p 2.85%
Unite Group (UTG) 968.50p 2.65%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,188.00p 2.63%
Barclays (BARC) 151.48p 2.55%
GSK (GSK) 1,525.00p 2.54%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 632.60p 2.53%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 91.71p 2.53%
Centrica (CNA) 112.15p 2.51%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Melrose Industries (MRO) 157.50p -3.88%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,216.00p -1.89%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 223.00p -1.76%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 164.55p -1.50%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,643.50p -1.38%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,419.00p -1.10%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 3,762.00p -1.00%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,744.00p -0.94%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,470.00p -0.60%
Informa (INF) 667.00p -0.60%