FTSE 100 movers: Morrisons gains on Citi upgrade, Anglo in the red

London's FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,013.35 in afternoon trade on Monday, reversing earlier gains as investors continued to mull data showing that growth in the UK's manufacturing sector slowed to a 10-month low in February.

Software provider Sage Group was the standout gainer, with traders pointing to the fact that US peer Intuit was lifted to 'equalweight' from 'underweight' by Morgan Stanley.

Morrisons was on the front foot as Citi upped the stock to 'neutral' from 'sell' and lifted the price target to 255p from 210p.

It said that while Sainsbury's shares offer the best risk/reward from its potential merger with Asda, Morrison's also looked set to benefit.

"While our base case for the JS-Asda merger drives almost 60% pro-forma EPS accretion for Sainsbury, we expect synergies to be tempered by circa 200 remedy store disposals.

"Moreover, this provides a potential opportunity for both Tesco and Morissons to acquire stores, with the latter benefiting from more opportunity and from a lower base."

Royal Dutch Shell gushed higher as Brent crude hit a two-month high close to $64 a barrel due to OPEC-led supply cuts and sanctions against Venezuela's petroleum industry.

David Cheetham, chief market analyst at XTB, said: "Production from OPEC members fell at its fastest pace in two years during the month of January and while Venezuelan output reportedly increased last month, the recent political turmoil threatens to curtail supply going forward. A further positive development for crude oil bulls was a fall in the number of rigs operating in the US, which dropped to 847 and marks an 8-month low.

"After a dramatic plunge of around 40% in the final quarter of last year, the oil market appears to have regained its footing and should these developments persist and cut supply further then there’s ample room for further upside going forward."

Anglo American was on the back foot even as JPMorgan reiterated its 'overweight' rating on the stock, saying that along with Rio Tinto, it was its preferred stock among the diversified miners given superior valuation and cash return prospects.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Sage Group (SGE) 643.40p 2.65%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 348.70p 2.44%
Halma (HLMA) 1,453.00p 2.18%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 238.95p 1.75%
3i Group (III) 884.80p 1.68%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,422.50p 1.59%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,954.00p 1.56%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 6,525.00p 1.48%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,491.00p 1.36%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,653.50p 1.32%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,164.00p -2.17%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,507.50p -2.01%
Glencore (GLEN) 300.80p -1.76%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,954.00p -1.57%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 172.50p -1.34%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,972.50p -1.33%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,807.50p -1.31%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,546.88p -1.28%
WPP (WPP) 866.20p -1.23%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 450.40p -1.21%