FTSE 100 movers: Coca-Cola fizzes higher but travel stocks drop

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.2% to 7,031.02 at 1510 GMT, with many traders already away from their desks as we head towards the Christmas break and volumes on the index down nearly 50% compared to the 10-day average.

Coca-Cola was the standout gainer after Coca-Cola US agreed to buy Anheuser Bush-InBev’s 54.5% stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa for $3.15bn.

The companies also reached an agreement in principle for Coca-Cola to buy AB InBev’s interest in bottling operations in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, El Salvador and Honduras for an undisclosed amount.

Aerospace and defence group Rolls-Royce rose after a spokesman for the company denied a Guardian report that it has sold equipment to Iran by exploiting loopholes in US sanctions.

Legal & General was on the front foot as RBC Capital Markets said it was one of its preferred stocks for 2017.

“In asset management, LGIM is the market leader in both of the key growth areas of passive investing and liability driven investment. In bulk annuities, 2017 is expected to be a record year for volumes and importantly strain has recently reduced. On the balance sheet, high yields reflect a lack of liquidity rather than default risk.”

The Canadian bank has an ‘outperform’ rating on the stock and a 300p price target.

On the downside, travel stocks TUI AG and Carnival retreated following the terror attack at a Berlin Christmas market that left 12 people dead.

Carnival was down despite a better-than-expected set of fourth-quarter results on Tuesday.

Risers

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,688.00p 1.50%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 682.50p 0.96%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 673.00p 0.90%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,100.00p 0.82%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,680.00p 0.80%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,444.00p 0.63%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 245.30p 0.62%
Experian (EXPN) 1,518.00p 0.60%
Provident Financial (PFG) 2,774.00p 0.58%
BT Group (BT.A) 370.15p 0.54%

Fallers

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,221.00p -1.77%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,788.00p -1.70%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,110.00p -1.68%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 226.60p -1.44%
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 437.40p -1.26%
Carnival (CCL) 4,095.00p -1.21%
3i Group (III) 683.00p -1.09%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 353.30p -1.04%
Schroders (SDR) 2,963.00p -0.97%
Centrica (CNA) 228.70p -0.91%