FTSE 100 movers: Glaxo drops on guidance; Vodafone rallies

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 6,494.78 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.

GlaxoSmithKline fell after the pharmaceuticals giant said it expects 2021 earnings to decline, as it reported growth in revenues and profit for 2020.

Glaxo said group turnover rose by 3% at constant exchange rates to £34bn, with pre-tax profit up 16% to £6.97bn.

It also provided guidance for 2021, saying it expects a decline of mid to high-single digit percent adjusted earnings per share at constant exchange rates.

On the upside, Vodafone rallied as it said it was confident about the full-year outlook after its German business drove a return to organic growth in the third quarter.

Aviva advanced after an upgrade to ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley.

Housebuilders Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey were both higher after an upgrade to ‘overweight’ from ‘equalweight’ at Barclays.

On the sector, Barclays said: "While rising unemployment cannot be ignored, we see the sharp fall in mortgage availability as a greater near-term risk to transaction levels and profitability. We expect ongoing Government support for housing and a potential mortgage indemnity scheme could help offset the current mortgage shortage without being a material drag on sector returns."

For 2021, it said the earnings recovery is underpinned by strong order books and that dividends are likely to resume.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Vodafone Group (VOD) 134.10p 5.28%
Aviva (AV.) 356.70p 3.60%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 2,858.00p 2.07%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,713.00p 2.03%
M&G (MNG) 186.35p 1.94%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 156.95p 1.55%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,518.00p 1.37%
BT Group (BT.A) 128.10p 1.30%
Next (NXT) 7,908.00p 1.28%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,030.00p 1.17%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 91.28p -3.67%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,326.40p -3.04%
Evraz (EVR) 488.90p -2.76%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 174.60p -1.99%
Entain (ENT) 1,262.00p -1.68%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 9,254.00p -1.55%
Diageo (DGE) 2,997.00p -1.54%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,637.00p -1.44%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 147.80p -1.43%
Sage Group (SGE) 597.60p -1.26%