FTSE 100 movers: Bunzl rallies on Barclays upgrade; BHP, Rio slip

London's FTSE 100 was down 0.3% to 7,411.29 in afternoon trade after data from the ONS showed UK inflation overshot the Bank of England's 2% target in February for the first time in more than three years.

Bunzl was among the risers after Barclays upgraded the stock to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' and lifted the price target to 2,550p from 2,450p.

"We believe organic growth and acquisition spending are at an inflection point, while the medium-term earnings power of the business remains amongst the highest of the 30 companies we cover in the sector," the bank said.

Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland were in the black amid expectations that the end of the deflationary era will mean bigger profit margins for banks.

Standard Life was trading higher a day after it and Aberdeen Asset Management issued a statement to clarify the co-chief executive roles of Keith Skeoch and Martin Gilbert following the announcement of their merger earlier this month.

On the downside, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton put in the worst performance as copper prices declined after talks resumed over a strike at BHP's Escondida mine in Chile.

Associated British foods was on the back foot. Nicholas Hyett at Hargreaves Lansdown said: "The ONS has released figures showing inflation increased faster than expected last month, hitting 2.3% to exceed the Bank of England’s 2% target for the first time since 2013.

"With the cost of living rising, concerns about the prospects of the beleaguered UK retail sector continue to grow. Shares in Primark owner Associated British Foods are down, just one of those impacted."

Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,556.00p 1.83%
Barclays (BARC) 232.10p 1.66%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,368.00p 1.41%
Standard Life (SL.) 368.50p 1.32%
Old Mutual (OML) 227.60p 1.20%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,230.00p 1.05%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 782.50p 0.97%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 242.20p 0.96%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 253.10p 0.96%
Aviva (AV.) 542.50p 0.84%

Fallers

Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,422.00p -1.38%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,318.50p -1.35%
Sage Group (SGE) 632.50p -1.25%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,626.00p -1.24%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,128.00p -0.97%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 244.90p -0.89%
Glencore (GLEN) 341.75p -0.86%
3i Group (III) 728.00p -0.82%
Diageo (DGE) 2,309.50p -0.79%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,887.00p -0.77%