FTSE 100 movers: Miners shine but supermarkets slump

London’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.4% to 6,210.60 in afternoon trading as investors digested the release of much weaker-than-expected non-farm payrolls which have reduced the chances of a June rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

Heavily-weighted mining stocks were the standout gainers as metals prices advanced, with silver miner Fresnillo the top performer.

Merlin Entertainments racked up healthy gains a day after Barclays reiterated its ‘overweight’ stance on the stock saying the shares were cheap.

“While we see few short-term positive catalysts, we believe the shares are cheap at 1.5x PEG (sector at 1.8x) in light of what we consider to be exceptional characteristics including: 1) 35+ years of expansion with global brands and scope for 25 LEGOLANDS (vs 6 today) and 140 more Midways (vs 100 today); and 2) 15-year LFL Sales growth CAGR of 5.6% with 2009 +5.7% - more defensive than Compass.”

BP was also in the black after the oil giant settled a lawsuit arising from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill by agreeing to pay investors who bought American Depository Shares $175m.

The investors bought the shares in 2010 after the Deepwater Horizon rig was hit by an explosion but before the full scale of the subsequent oil spill became apparent. They claimed the company had concealed the extent of the disaster.

Supermarkets suffered the brunt of the losses.

HSBC maintained its 'reduce' stance on Sainsbury in a note on Friday, noting the company is losing sales as it prepares to integrate Argos and as completion intensifies.

“We expect 1Q LFL sales to be down c2% (based on Nielsen data), which would make 2-year LFLs down over 4%, among the worst on record for Sainsbury. It appears Sainsbury’s move away from promotions and Brand Match is hurting sales.”

The bank added that this issue is being compounded by a slowing opening programme and a lower contribution from maturing space.

Risers

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,089.00p 4.31%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,050.00p 3.42%
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 432.50p 3.15%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 830.60p 3.10%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 429.90p 2.99%
Anglo American (AAL) 604.50p 2.89%
Glencore (GLEN) 132.10p 2.76%
BP (BP.) 360.40p 2.07%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 2,690.00p 1.97%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 1,898.00p 1.74%

Fallers

Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 190.90p -2.80%
Tesco (TSCO) 164.95p -2.68%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 251.30p -2.18%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,937.00p -1.94%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 574.50p -1.79%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 189.20p -1.66%
WPP (WPP) 1,582.00p -0.94%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,054.00p -0.87%
Prudential (PRU) 1,341.50p -0.63%
Pearson (PSON) 844.50p -0.59%