FTSE 100 movers: Pearson boosted by upgrade; Ocado in the red

London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.9% at 7,455.29 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.

Education publisher Pearson was the standout gainer on the index after UBS lifted the shares to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’, arguing that its assessment and qualifications segment has the potential to "materially" beat growth expectations.

UBS also said it sees upside if Pearson can win back more contracts in the US student assessment market, or if Edexcel expands beyond the UK.

Elsewhere, retailers Tesco, B&M and Next also gained.

Online supermarket Ocado was the worst performer, however. The shares surged a couple of weeks ago amid speculation it could be a bid target for Amazon.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Pearson (PSON) 836.40p 2.32%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 206.60p 1.77%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,215.00p 1.25%
Tesco (TSCO) 249.50p 0.69%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 545.40p 0.44%
Next (NXT) 6,998.00p 0.34%
BAE Systems (BA.) 912.00p 0.33%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 270.40p 0.30%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 44.01p 0.30%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,786.00p 0.17%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 574.60p -6.60%
Prudential (PRU) 1,072.00p -3.07%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,476.00p -2.48%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,278.50p -2.29%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 223.30p -2.23%
M&G (MNG) 189.45p -2.12%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,258.00p -1.98%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,730.00p -1.96%
Kingfisher (KGF) 227.60p -1.94%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 943.20p -1.93%