FTSE 100 movers: Kingfisher boosted by upgrade; Relx in the red

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 7,609.88 in afternoon trade on Thursday.

Kingfisher was the standout gainer on the index after Citi upgraded shares of the B&Q and Castorama owner to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ as it argued that the UK housing recovery supports a re-rating.

The bank said Kingfisher looks "well positioned to benefit from a recovery in the UK housing market".

"Ahead of the FY24 results, we think investor sentiment remains cautious, but we may be close to the end of the downgrade cycle, and early signs of UK housing market recovery may drive more constructive investor sentiment from here," it added.

BA and Iberia owner IAG flew higher after Jet2 lifted its annual profit guidance.

British Gas owner Centrica rose even as it posted a fall in annual profits on the back of "sharply lower" commodity prices.

Adjusted operating profit for the year to December 2023 came in at £2.72bn from £3.3bn. The full-year dividend was up 33% to 4p a share.

Imperial Brands, BP and Shell all fell as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Business information and analytics firm Relx reversed earlier gains to trade lower despite hiking its dividend after a robust full-year performance.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Kingfisher (KGF) 226.30p 3.57%
Pearson (PSON) 974.60p 3.02%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 548.80p 3.00%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,451.00p 2.90%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 148.10p 2.88%
Croda International (CRDA) 5,004.00p 2.86%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 213.90p 2.34%
Fresnillo (FRES) 477.40p 2.34%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 319.40p 2.31%
Centrica (CNA) 137.45p 2.27%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,834.00p -3.07%
BP (BP.) 463.20p -2.79%
Shell (SHEL) 2,435.50p -2.48%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 315.90p -1.00%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 99.70p -0.99%
Relx plc (REL) 3,304.00p -0.96%
Glencore (GLEN) 389.00p -0.63%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 41.19p -0.62%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 233.60p -0.55%
GSK (GSK) 1,658.80p -0.55%