FTSE 100 movers: Experian and SABMiller shine; Sainsbury's slumps on results

London’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.5% to 6,308.14 at 1440 GMT, with Experian and SABMiller pacing the advance as investors digested some mixed data releases.

Shares in information services company Experian rallied for the second day in a row, after Citigroup lifted its price target on the stock by 9% to 1,340p to reflect higher earnings and the sector’s re-rating. It said the results brought important validation of its view that Experian can still grow solidly in Brazil despite contracting consumer and business credit issuance and that its management is genuinely committed to shareholder distribution. The bank rates Experian at ‘buy’. Morgan Stanley lent a helping hand, hiking its target on the shares to 1,400p from 1,350p.

SABMiller was on the front foot after it confirmed that Belgium-based rival Anheuser Busch-InBev has made a formal offer to buy the London-listed brewer for £44 a share in cash. The deal, which is expected to complete in the second half of next year and follows months of negotiations and extended deadlines from the Takeover Panel, represents a premium of around 50% to SABMiller’s closing price prior to renewed speculation of an approach.

Supermarket retailer Sainsbury was the standout loser after the company said like-for-like sales shrank 1.6% in the first half, pushing pre-tax profits down 17.9% lower to £308m. Underlying total sales in the period contracted 2% to £13.6bn, with food sales down nearly 1% but clothing was up 10%, while reported total sales were in line with forecasts at £12.4bn, down 2% as market share declined by 17 basis points to 16.5% in the face of competition from discounters. Peers Morrison and Tesco followed suit.

Housebuilder Barratt Developments was also under the cosh despite posting a 21% increase in total forward sales, including joint ventures, to £2.5bn in the 19 weeks to 8 November. David Morrison, market analyst at SpreadCo, said: “There’s been a general sell-off in the sector since the end of October when a number of major house builders hit multi-year highs. This looks like profit-taking and it will be interesting to see if Barratt can hold above support which comes in around 560p.”

Peer Persimmon was also under pressure.

Energy supplier SSE was in the red after its first half results. Although pre-tax profit rose 48.2% to £548.8m, investors noted the company’s cautious outlook. “The generally negative trend in commodity prices and the generally challenging outlook for market conditions could continue to impact in the second half of the financial year,” SSE said.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Experian (EXPN) 1,225.00p 3.20%
SABMiller (SAB) 4,077.50p 2.55%
St James's Place (STJ) 968.00p 2.22%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 979.50p 2.19%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 508.00p 2.07%
BT Group (BT.A) 475.00p 2.04%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,583.00p 1.93%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,765.00p 1.93%
Relx plc (REL) 1,169.00p 1.74%
Meggitt (MGGT) 384.20p 1.69%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 258.70p -5.10%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 561.50p -2.43%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,844.00p -1.65%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 156.90p -1.63%
SSE (SSE) 1,474.00p -1.21%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 937.10p -0.99%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 3,914.00p -0.89%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,105.00p -0.86%
Tesco (TSCO) 173.75p -0.86%
BP (BP.) 379.30p -0.84%