FTSE 100 movers: Retailers dominate risers, CRH lower on rejected merger

Tesco led the FTSE 100 risers on reports that advertising and marketing giant WPP Group could potentially buy a majority stake in the supermarket's consumer behaviour tracker Dunnhumby. The business is valued at around £2bn and would offer WPP with an insight into UK shopping habits, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

Fellow grocer Sainsbury also rebounded from earlier falls ahead of a trading update due on Tuesday. Chief executive Mike Coupe is expected to assert that lower prices and cost cuts will drive recovery from falling fourth quarter sales.

Elsewhere in retail, Next surged ahead of annual results due on Thursday.

Mining stocks were trading higher after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the Chinese government would stimulate the private sector if growth continued to ease, at the National People’s Congress on Sunday. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were both trading higher on the news.

Irish building materials group CRH dropped on the news that Holcim has rejected the terms of a proposed merger with Lafarge, demanding a better deal. CRH is set to snap up €6.5bn of assets from Holcim and Lafarge subject to the completion of the merger.

Oil stocks tumbled on declining Brent crude prices, with Tullow Oil leading the fallers.

Risers
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 269.50p +4.01%
Tesco (TSCO) 241.60p +3.76%
Kingfisher (KGF) 365.60p +3.07%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,897.00p +2.87%
Next (NXT) 7,530.00p +2.45%
Meggitt (MGGT) 588.00p +2.26%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,194.00p +2.23%
Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 3,165.00p +2.23%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 3,047.00p +2.11%
Carnival (CCL) 3,197.00p +2.11%

Fallers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 280.00p -6.13%
CRH (CRH) 1,742.00p -3.81%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 643.00p -2.13%
Experian (EXPN) 1,110.00p -1.77%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 351.80p -1.24%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,096.00p -0.99%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,771.00p -0.95%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,047.00p -0.76%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,112.00p -0.71%
Glencore (GLEN) 275.55p -0.65%