FTSE 100 movers: Kingfisher slumps; miners shine

Kingfisher slumped after its annual results beat the City's profit forecasts thanks to strong growth from its Screwfix chain, but the company sounded a cautious note on its outlook.

While the transformation of B&Q and French businesses continued, sales began to slow in the second half amid concerns of a consumer slowdown.

For the year to 31 January adjusted sales rose 8.7% to £11.2bn, helped by currency effects, with UK & Ireland sales up 2.4% or 5.9% on a like-for-like basis.

But while total adjusted sales in constant currencies rose 2.7% in the first six months, growth slowed to 1.7% for the full year, while UK & Ireland LFL sales in constant currencies were up 3.1% in the first they were down to 2.4% for the full year.

While there was some uncertainty expressed over the looming French election and Britain's exit from the EU, management remain confident in their £500m target uplift in operating profit by January 2021 and the return of a further £400m of capital by the year ending January 2019 via share buyback.

Easyjet fell tumbled after news of potential route restrictions post-Brexit and after the US and UK introduced new restrictions on electronic devices for certain flights.

UK airlines have reportedly been warned by European Union officials that they could lose the right to fly certain European routes after Brexit unless they move their headquarters onto the continent.

The British government has banned the use of electronic devices larger than smartphones on flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia to the UK, following the lead set by the US.

New regulations were brought in by the US transport safety administration on Monday, with tablet computers such as iPads and Kindles as well as laptops banned from being carried into the cabin of flights from several airports.

Mining stocks were shining in an otherwise bleak market, with Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Randgold and Glencore all higher.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,324.22 -0.73%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 18,808.52 -0.95%
techMARK (TASX) 3,426.58 -0.87%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,585.00p 2.06%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 844.50p 1.81%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,275.00p 1.11%
Glencore (GLEN) 332.95p 0.86%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,253.00p 0.48%
BT Group (BT.A) 328.60p 0.47%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,015.00p 0.45%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,411.00p 0.29%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,167.00p 0.23%
Relx plc (REL) 1,541.00p 0.20%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Kingfisher (KGF) 326.30p -5.58%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,300.00p -2.75%
easyJet (EZJ) 983.00p -2.58%
Standard Life (SL.) 358.00p -2.29%
Barclays (BARC) 224.80p -2.26%
Prudential (PRU) 1,720.50p -2.19%
Pearson (PSON) 643.00p -1.98%
Worldpay Group (WPG) 287.20p -1.98%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 549.50p -1.96%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 3,007.00p -1.89%