FTSE 100 movers: GSK lifted by Jefferies upgrade; miners weak

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.6% at 7,672.25 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.

Heavily-weighted miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore all fell.

Rentokil Initial was weaker after RBC Capital Markets cut its price target on the shares to 575p from 610p as it downgraded forecasts for forex and a greater back-end loading of TMX synergies, but said it believes the long-term story remains intact.

Burberry was also down after Stifel downgraded shares of the luxury fashion brand to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’.

GSK was the standout gainer on the index after an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ at Jefferies.

"We are well above cons 2026+E and believe long-acting HIV injectables, vaccines, and new pipeline launches mean profits likely face a ‘blip’ not ‘cliff’ on 2028+E HIV patent expiries," Jefferies said.

"We argue given this underappreciated growth profile, the shares offer attractive risk-reward ahead of potential Zantac class action settlement and misplaced concerns on 2024 growth. NPVs suggest the stock is deeply discounted, hence our upgrade to buy."

Entain was up after the Ladbrokes owner announced the appointment of Eminence Capital founder Ricky Sandler as a non-executive director with immediate effect.

Tesco was higher as the latest data from Kantar showed that showed that retailers enjoyed their busiest Christmas since 2019. The data also showed that the annual rate of grocery price inflation fell from 9.1% to 6.7% - the lowest level since April 2022. It also marked the sharpest month-on-month drop since Kantar started tracking prices.

FTSE 100 - Risers

GSK (GSK) 1,507.20p 1.85%
Entain (ENT) 1,000.50p 1.53%
Centrica (CNA) 143.40p 1.49%
Tesco (TSCO) 297.30p 1.43%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 279.90p 1.41%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,874.50p 1.31%
Haleon (HLN) 328.05p 1.19%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,516.00p 1.10%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,804.50p 1.01%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,127.00p 0.99%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 1,869.40p -5.02%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,595.50p -3.39%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 418.10p -3.33%
Fresnillo (FRES) 553.60p -3.05%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 9,922.00p -2.87%
Glencore (GLEN) 455.30p -2.86%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 719.60p -2.70%
Prudential (PRU) 834.80p -2.50%
IMI (IMI) 1,620.00p -2.47%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,369.00p -2.21%