FTSE 100 movers: Bunzl in the red; Dechra gains on acquisition

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 7,397.80 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.

NatWest was the worst performer as its shares went ex-dividend.

Bunzl was in the red even as it lifted its full-year margin outlook and posted a jump in first-half profit and revenue as product cost inflation and volume growth more than offset an expected decline in Covid-related sales.

AstraZeneca was also weaker despite saying that its Evusheld long-acting antibody combination has been approved in Japan for the prevention and treatment of Covid-19. It also said on Tuesday that clinical trial results had shown that its Farxiga treatment against Type II diabetes significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular death or worsening of heart failure in patients with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction.

Dechra Pharmaceuticals was sitting pretty at the top of the index after announcing the acquisition of bought California -based veterinary pharmaceutical manufacturer Med-Pharmex for $260m (£221.5m). It said Med-Pharmex is the acquisition referred to in the fundraising announcement it made in July as the "potential acquisition".

Next was also up after Joules said it remains in "positive" discussions with the retailer about adopting its Total Platform services to support its long-term growth plans and a potential equity investment.

The company, which first announced the talks earlier this month, was responding to a Sky News report over the weekend suggesting that the struggling fashion chain’s talks with Next had hit a stumbling block after Joules issued a profit warning.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,580.00p 4.07%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 2,896.00p 3.35%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 112.85p 2.92%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 268.00p 2.80%
Next (NXT) 5,892.00p 2.79%
Kingfisher (KGF) 236.60p 2.78%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,830.00p 2.72%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 207.90p 2.57%
Entain (ENT) 1,278.00p 2.53%
Barclays (BARC) 166.06p 2.44%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 252.05p -6.72%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,682.00p -5.61%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,944.00p -5.49%
Centrica (CNA) 78.10p -4.71%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 473.40p -3.80%
SSE (SSE) 1,739.00p -3.52%
Fresnillo (FRES) 707.40p -2.86%
Haleon (HLN) 259.40p -2.59%
BAE Systems (BA.) 794.80p -2.24%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,122.00p -2.13%