FTSE 100 movers: Energy stocks hit by drop in crude, Lloyds boosted by upgrade

Sainsbury was trading lower as hedge funds forecast that the supermarket group would be damaged by the grocery industry’s escalating price war. Lansdowne Partners, Odey Asset Management and Marshall Wace all blamed the growing popularity of discounters Aldi and Lidl, who would hit profitability by forcing aggressive price cuts for the group to remain competitive.

Antofagasta and Rio Tinto were among the fallers amid growing concern about a slowdown in Chinese demand for raw materials and copper futures declined.

RBS tumbled after it was revealed the company may be forced to pay at least £5bn to resolve claims relating to alleged misconduct in the sale of US mortgage securities.

Energy stocks were hit by a drop in crude futures, following another week of weakness. As the dollar strengthened and the euro fell, shares in Tullow Oil and BG Group slumped. On the other side of the ledger, the fall in crude futures provided Easyjet with a boost, reflecting the prospect for reduced fuel costs.

Lloyds Banking was higher following an upgrade from Investec to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’. “We think 2015 heralds lower conduct costs and greater predictability of [recovering] underlying earnings,” said analyst Ian Gordon.