FTSE 100 movers: Coca-Cola rallies on Citi upgrade; housebuilders advance

London’s FTSE 100 was up 1.5% to 6,143.38 in afternoon trading, bouncing back from losses suffered in the previous session amid concerns the Federal Reserve might hike interest rates as early as June.

Shares in beverage bottler Coca-Cola HBC jumped after Citigroup upgraded the stock to ‘buy’, saying the company’s shares trade at a five-year peak discount to peers.

While the bank acknowledged concerns – including a potential naira devaluation and rising sugar prices – it felt "these concerns are priced in, providing a good opportunity to buy into improving fundamentals”.

Citigroup expects a visible margin recovery opportunity to be a key driver of share performance.

Shire was booted as JPMorgan Cazenove lifted its price target on the overweight-rated stock to 5,600p from 5,300p and added it to its 'Analyst Focus List', saying the acquisition of US-based Baxalta builds a more sustainable company trading at a compelling valuation.

“Over the next 12 months we expect the market to take a more positive view on the sustainability of the Shaxalta growth outlook and anticipate a re-rating from 12x to 16x 2017e PE, equating to our 5,600p Dec-16 price target.”

JPM said its haemophilia model finds greater sustainability for Baxalta’s franchise than the market fears.

Housebuilders were also racking up healthy gains, with Barratt Developments and Berkeley both firmly in the black as it emerged bookies have cut the odds on Britain voting to remain in the European Union, suggesting the 'Remain' campaign was gaining traction.

Risers

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,362.00p 5.91%
Anglo American (AAL) 609.30p 5.18%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,260.00p 3.60%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,216.00p 3.33%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 576.50p 3.22%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,185.00p 3.01%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 431.60p 3.01%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 959.00p 2.84%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,082.00p 2.71%
CRH (CRH) 2,045.00p 2.71%

Fallers

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 511.50p -0.68%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 479.30p -0.25%
Next (NXT) 5,330.00p 0.00%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,880.00p 0.11%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 427.05p 0.12%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,900.00p 0.17%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,464.00p 0.21%
GKN (GKN) 273.70p 0.22%
SABMiller (SAB) 4,226.00p 0.38%
Standard Life (SL.) 330.20p 0.40%