FTSE 100 movers: CRH surges on Holcim and Lafarge deal, Easyjet and IAG hit by rising oil prices

Irish building materials group CRH rose nearly 6% after confirming it will spend €6.5bn on assets from Holcim and Lafarge as the two European cement makers dispose of operations to win approval for their merger. CRH said it expected the deal to make it the “global number-three building materials player”, and will finance the acquisition using a combination of existing cash, bank facilities and an equity placing

Energy stocks such as Tullow, BG Group and Shell were making decent gains after the recent rebound in crude. After surging as much as 8% on Friday, rebounding from a six-year low, oil continued to rise on Monday on speculation that US drilling is slowing down, while worked staged strikes at American refineries.

Tullow in particular jumped 6% on the back of rumours that Shell could make a bid for its smaller rival.

In contrast, the rising oil price was weighing on shares in travel groups such as Easyjet and IAG. Sentiment was also dampened after sector peer Ryanair warned that the collapse in oil over the last few months will hit air fares.

Miner Fresnillo was among the fallers after UBS lowered its rating on the stock from ‘buy’ to ‘neutral’. UBS forecast peak capital expenditure resulting in negative free cash flow in 2015. While Fresnillo’s balance sheet remains solid, the company “now has more financial leverage in a downside commodity price scenario,” according to analysts.

Risers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 387.40p +6.14%
CRH (CRH) 1,675.00p +4.49%
BG Group (BG.) 922.40p +4.00%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 263.90p +3.33%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,731.00p +3.04%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,156.50p +2.47%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,590.00p +2.32%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,059.50p +2.06%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,469.50p +1.84%
BP (BP.) 431.40p +1.64%

Fallers
easyJet (EZJ) 1,775.00p -4.67%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,000.00p -2.63%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,096.00p -2.60%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 533.00p -2.11%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 2,315.00p -2.11%
Fresnillo (FRES) 881.50p -1.95%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,068.00p -1.84%
Wolseley (WOS) 3,793.00p -1.79%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 872.50p -1.71%
Kingfisher (KGF) 337.20p -1.63%