FTSE 100 movers: Melrose boosted by Stifel note; StanChart in the red
London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 8,245.95 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.
Melrose Industries rallied after Stifel lifted its price target on the shares to 700p from 690p and upped its profit forecast.
Stifel, which kept its ‘buy’ rating on the shares, said they have lagged the company’s Aero engine peers over recent weeks, partly due to the perceived overhang of the LTIP crystallisation and the consequent issue of stock to former and current management.
"With the group now opting to cash-settle the portion of the payout required to fund tax costs, and some of the remaining shares subject to lock-up, dilution is less than we had anticipated, and there seems little risk of material flowback," Stifel said.
"Meanwhile, the Q1 trading update, and commentary from peers, suggests that trading remains robust, with strong demand for high-margin Aero aftermarket parts and services, through RRSPs and direct."
Marks & Spencer and Next both gained after figures from the BRC and KPMG showed that retail sales inched higher in May, staging a minor rebound after a disappointing performance in April.
On the downside, online supermarket Ocado slumped as it faced relegation from the index.
BP and Shell fell as oil prices retreated after OPEC+ nations said they would gradually phase out production cuts after September.
Standard Chartered was under the cosh after a former banker there accused the bank of carrying out more than $100bn of undetected transactions that breached sanctions against Iran.
The whistleblower claims relate to thousands of transactions made by the bank between 2008 and 2013, even after it said it had discontinued all Iranian operations in 2007. These transactions include those allegedly made to a number of front companies for Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as other entities linked to terrorist organisations.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Melrose Industries (MRO) 635.20p 3.42%
Halma (HLMA) 2,291.00p 2.28%
National Grid (NG.) 905.20p 2.17%
easyJet (EZJ) 484.60p 1.94%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 311.80p 1.86%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,382.00p 1.74%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,397.00p 1.70%
Relx plc (REL) 3,480.00p 1.69%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,866.00p 1.67%
Next (NXT) 9,476.00p 1.65%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 357.60p -6.56%
Fresnillo (FRES) 582.00p -5.60%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 745.00p -4.04%
St James's Place (STJ) 502.00p -4.02%
BP (BP.) 464.10p -3.55%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,422.50p -3.22%
Shell (SHEL) 2,719.00p -2.28%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,165.00p -2.26%
Glencore (GLEN) 471.50p -2.08%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,120.00p -1.99%