FTSE 100 movers: Johnson Matthey gains on upgrade; Burberry out of fashion

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.1% to 6,371.35 in afternoon trade as investors paused for breath after Wednesday’s gains and digested the Bank of England’s decision to stand pat on rates.

Speciality chemicals group Johnson Matthey was a high riser after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to ‘outperform’ from ‘neutral’ and lifted the price target to 3,100p from 2,850p.

It said the market underestimates the strength of JMAT portfolios and undervalues the structural growth opportunity in automotive catalysis and battery materials.

Credit Suisse said JMAT has a leading position in catalysis but requires significant investment in battery materials to hedge the portfolio further.

RBS was in the black as it emerged the bank was cutting around 600 jobs in its retail division and closing 32 branches.

The bank plans to cut around 200 jobs in London and the south east of England, with another 400 to go in the Midlands, according to union Unite.

“With job losses across the country and surviving branches on reduced hours, there’s no doubt this latest round of cuts will hurt the bank’s customers as well as our members,” said Lyn Turner, Unite’s regional officer.

Broadcaster ITV edged higher amid press reports it is in talks with Entertainment One about a possible takeover, although the Peppa Pig owner said earlier it had not received any approaches.

Rio Tinto was also on the front foot after the miner’s chairman said at the annual general meeting that there will probably be a substantial reduction in dividends.

Shares in Persimmon subsided as the housebuilder’s latest trading update suggested sales in recent weeks have slowed. Peers followed suit, with Berkeley Group, Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey also in the red.

Luxury fashion house Burberry was a standout loser as it warned profits for 2017 are likely to be around the bottom of the range of analysts' forecasts due to increased investment in the business and a "challenging demand environment".

Risers

BHP Billiton (BLT) 907.20p 2.76%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,881.00p 1.98%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 965.00p 1.37%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 232.50p 1.26%
ITV (ITV) 243.10p 1.21%
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 464.80p 1.04%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,273.00p 1.03%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,268.00p 1.02%
3i Group (III) 484.10p 0.98%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,139.00p 0.96%

Fallers

Persimmon (PSN) 1,891.00p -6.43%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,265.00p -5.95%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 2,975.00p -3.75%
Standard Life (SL.) 347.20p -3.37%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 525.00p -3.23%
Intu Properties (INTU) 310.50p -2.36%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,625.00p -2.21%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 178.10p -1.87%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,009.00p -1.75%
DCC (DCC) 6,300.00p -1.49%