FTSE 100 movers: Rolls-Royce rallies; utilities in the red

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.8% at 8,315.75 in afternoon trade on Thursday.

Rolls-Royce was the standout gainer after it was selected to build mini nuclear power plants for the Czech government.

As part of the deal, announced late on Wednesday, Rolls-Royce will develop and build small modular reactors (SMRs), with the first one expected to be built near the Temelin nuclear power plant before 2035.

Miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto all rose in tandem with copper prices.

Ashtead was a high riser as Berenberg initiated coverage of the equipment rental firm with a ‘buy’ rating and 7,000p price target.

The bank said that alongside competitors, Ashtead has benefited from a 10-year trend toward leasing over ownership.

"In the medium term, it has significant exposure to structural growth drivers, and opportunities for less-cyclical growth," it said.

"Ashtead is currently trading at a rare discount to United Rentals and in line with its historical median, despite a positive outlook and lower cyclicality of growth.

"In our view, this offers an opportunity to invest in what we deem to be the highest-quality company in the rentals sector."

Utilities were on the back foot, with National Grid, SSE and Severn Trent all weaker.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 518.00p 4.44%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,215.00p 4.31%
Fresnillo (FRES) 586.00p 4.09%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,848.00p 3.97%
Glencore (GLEN) 394.85p 3.95%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 156.00p 3.86%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,746.00p 3.72%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,939.50p 3.65%
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,470.00p 3.46%
Prudential (PRU) 652.40p 3.23%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

National Grid (NG.) 1,018.00p -3.09%
SSE (SSE) 1,943.50p -2.65%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 76.24p -2.36%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,629.00p -1.98%
BT Group (BT.A) 145.85p -1.52%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 292.80p -1.48%
Haleon (HLN) 391.80p -1.26%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,611.00p -1.20%
Bunzl (BNZL) 3,630.00p -1.04%
GSK (GSK) 1,589.00p -0.94%