FTSE 100 movers: Miners advance; Carnival slumps on Morgan Stanley downgrade

London’s FTSE 100 index was up 1.6% to 6,853.21 in afternoon trade as investors digested a weaker-than-expected nonfarm payrolls report, which has prompted investors to scale back expectations of the next Fed rate hike.

Heavily-weighted mining stocks were among the best performers, with Anglo American, Fresnillo and Randgold Resources all higher.

On the downside, Carnival was on the back foot after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to ‘underweight’ from ‘equalweight’.

“Our monthly agents survey suggests cruise demand weakened in August, with prices also softening. With the industry order book at a record high, Europe/China likely to stay weak and Caribbean risks rising, we see yields continuing to slow. CCL's relatively high valuation means we cut to UW.”

Housebuilders were under the cosh, led lower after retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone said that it had seen evidence of some weakness in the secondary housing market since its trading update on 29 June.

The company said that while website enquiries have increased and it has continued to take new reservations, these have been at a lower level than in the first nine months of the financial year and cancellations have been at higher levels.

Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon, Berkeley Group and Barratt Developments declined.

Lloyds Banking Group was also in the red as Bernstein noted the shares are down 16% year-to-date, underperforming the FTSE 100 by about 25%.

“However, the stock has bounced back some 30% since its post Brexit lows. Given the structural challenges the bank faces, we feel the stock is again at a level where we see it as the best short in the UK banks.”

Risers

Anglo American (AAL) 819.20p 3.87%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,148.00p 3.37%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,672.00p 3.27%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,642.00p 3.25%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 4,088.00p 3.17%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,450.00p 2.76%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,833.00p 2.54%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,393.00p 2.44%
Experian (EXPN) 1,537.00p 2.40%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,240.00p 2.39%

Fallers

Carnival (CCL) 3,532.00p -3.66%
Intu Properties (INTU) 309.10p -1.84%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 162.80p -1.69%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,840.00p -1.60%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 2,736.00p -1.41%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 493.20p -1.36%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 372.70p -1.19%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,649.00p -0.90%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 60.16p -0.79%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,040.00p -0.76%