FTSE 100 movers: Homeserve rallies on update; banks retreat

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 6,283.24 in afternoon trade on Friday.

Homeserve was the standout gainer after saying it expected a solid performance in the current financial year as the home repair company indicated trading was picking up well after Covid-19 lockdowns.

Broker Peel Hunt said: "We confidently retain our FY21 profit before tax of £181m (consensus £183m) to give earnings per share of 40.8p.

"The shares continue to show their resilience and trade on 27x FY22 EPS. We retain our ‘buy’ recommendation and 1,450p target given the free cash flow growth visibility."

Iron ore miner Rio Tinto was also up after it reported a 1.5% rise in second-quarter iron ore shipments and said demand from China was improving as the country’s economy recovers from the pandemic.

On the downside, banks were under the cosh, with Barclays, HSBC and RBS all weaker.

British Airways and Iberia parent IAG was also in the red after BA announced late on Thursday that it was retiring all of its Boeing 747s as the travel industry takes a hit from the pandemic.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Homeserve (HSV) 1,350.00p 3.61%
Avast (AVST) 592.00p 2.96%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,474.50p 2.72%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 9,077.00p 2.63%
SSE (SSE) 1,432.00p 2.51%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,399.00p 2.49%
BT Group (BT.A) 118.00p 2.48%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,068.50p 2.35%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,034.00p 2.17%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,916.00p 1.93%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Barclays (BARC) 115.38p -2.70%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 219.70p -1.96%
ITV (ITV) 67.42p -1.58%
WPP (WPP) 614.40p -1.57%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 380.05p -1.44%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,271.00p -1.43%
3i Group (III) 855.00p -1.38%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,411.00p -1.23%
Evraz (EVR) 304.80p -1.20%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 120.60p -1.11%