FTSE 100 movers: IAG hits a rough patch; Meggitt bounces back

London’s FTSE 100 index slumped, as investors booked some profits at the end of a fairly solid month of October.

British Airways and Iberia parent International Consolidated Airlines Group hit some turbulence following the company’s third-quarter results. For the key three months to 30 September, IAG’s operating profit before exceptional items of €1.25bn was a 39% increase on the same period last year, beating analyst forecasts and taking the nine-month total to €1.81bn, a 59% year-on-year gain. IAG, which announced its first ever dividend on Thursday, also nudged its full-year operating profit guidance to between €2.25bn and €2.3bn, excluding Aer Lingus.

However, analysts at Societe Generale said the upgrade to operating profit guidance was largely factored into consensus so it does not expect to see any change to consensus estimates. It added that a negative share price reaction was likely given the strong performance of the stock, which is up 22%year-to-date.

Elsewhere, Meggitt bounced back after the aerospace and defence company suffered two days of heavy losses on the back of a profit warning. On Wednesday, the group cautioned that profit for the full year will be well below forecasts after it endured softer trading during the third quarter, with a “marked deterioration” in its end markets in September.

On the downside, Barclays was on the back foot again after posting disappointing third-quarter results in the previous session. The bank said on Wednesday that pre-tax profit slipped below consensus forecasts due to a higher cost of claims settlements and falling revenues. Adjusted pre-tax profit dipped to £1.43bn from £1.59bn in the same period last year, missing the average forecast of £1.65bn from analysts polled by the company, with revenue down to £6.11bn from £6.38 in 2014.

Risers

Glencore (GLEN) 113.65p 2.57%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 694.50p 2.28%
Meggitt (MGGT) 354.80p 2.16%
Anglo American (AAL) 546.60p 1.79%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 698.00p 1.60%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,000.00p 1.11%
Wolseley (WOS) 3,794.00p 0.96%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 195.60p 0.93%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 964.50p 0.89%
Kingfisher (KGF) 352.60p 0.89%

Fallers

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 576.50p -3.51%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,894.00p -2.08%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 168.00p -2.04%
Barclays (BARC) 232.90p -1.83%
Tesco (TSCO) 182.40p -1.75%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,374.00p -1.69%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,533.00p -1.54%
BP (BP.) 385.95p -1.47%
Standard Life (SL.) 419.60p -1.46%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,438.00p -1.44%