FTSE 100 movers: Property stocks rally but miners slip
London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.2% to 6,736.59 in afternoon trade.
Property stocks got a boost following the release of better-than-expected UK construction PMI data, with Land Securities, British Land, Hammerson, and Barratt Developments all in the black.
The Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index for construction rose to 52.8 in November from 52.6 in October, beating forecasts for a reading of 52.2. A level above 50 signals an expansion in sector activity while a figure below that indicates a contraction.
Shire gained as Societe Generale initiated coverage of the stock at ‘buy’ with a 6,500p price target, while Imperial Brands gained as Goldman Sachs reiterated its ‘buy’ rating on the stock and added it to its ‘conviction’ list.
GS said the current stock price marks a compelling buying opportunity as it has underperformed staples by 10 percentage points year-to-date and now trades at valuation discounts that are higher than historical levels. In addition, it pointed out that the shares offer attractive annual shareholder returns of 11% in FY18E.
On the downside, EasyJet flew lower as RBC Capital Markets cut its stance on the stock to ‘underperform’ from ‘sector perform’.
The bank argued that without material and significant improvement in the fare/pricing outlook in the next three years, EasyJet shares might only deliver 1-2% total return compound annual growth rate.
“If pricing stays weak for longer, we estimate that over five years the shares could see total return downside by 2020,” it said.
Aerospace and defence group Rolls-Royce was on the back foot a day after it announced plans to cut around 800 jobs worldwide as it looks to make savings in its marine business.
Miners Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Glencore, Anglo American and Rio Tinto fell back as metals prices retreated.
Risers
Land Securities Group (LAND) 955.00p 1.70%
British Land Company (BLND) 588.00p 1.47%
SSE (SSE) 1,470.00p 1.10%
Royal Mail (RMG) 460.00p 1.05%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,600.50p 1.01%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,377.50p 0.97%
Hammerson (HMSO) 537.50p 0.94%
National Grid (NG.) 905.60p 0.77%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 470.60p 0.66%
BT Group (BT.A) 355.25p 0.58%
Fallers
Antofagasta (ANTO) 677.00p -4.04%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 657.50p -3.59%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,291.00p -3.58%
Barclays (BARC) 212.30p -3.08%
Glencore (GLEN) 275.05p -3.00%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,179.50p -2.32%
easyJet (EZJ) 973.50p -2.31%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,964.00p -2.11%
Sage Group (SGE) 635.00p -2.08%
CRH (CRH) 2,574.00p -1.94%