FTSE 100 movers: Sale news boosts Lloyds while miners sink

The FTSE 100 was just in the red in Friday afternoon trading, as rock bottom copper prices dragged on miners, a mixed UK jobs report failed to inspire and traders awaited the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting minutes for April.

Equipment rental company Ashtead Group was extending its gains from Tuesday’s session, when it had its rating upgraded to ‘outperform’ by analysts at Exane BNP Paribas.

In the research report, analysts at Exane issued a target price of 1050p on the stock, which indicated a potential upside of 14.6% from its price at the time.

The broker had downgraded Ashtead to ‘neutral’ in December, slapping a 900p target price on the stock.

“We see modest upside to FY17 consensus, with scope for the shares to re-couple with the earnings trend,” Exane said on Tuesday.

Lloyds Banking Group was another equity riding positive news brought on Tuesday, when the government confirmed just before London closed that it will sell its remaining stake in the company within the next 12 months.

A little over 9% of the bank remains in state hands, after it was bailed out by the taxpayer at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008 - at a cost of £20bn.

“The £130m we’ve received today marks another milestone in government’s plan to recover the money taxpayers were forced to put into Lloyds during the financial crisis,” said Harriet Baldwin, economic secretary to the Treasury.

Low-cost carrier easyJet was another big riser, though the interest was unlikely to be a result of the airline’s revealing of a prototype smart shoe for lost travellers, dubbed the ‘Sneakair’.

The show incorporates technology which connects to a smartphone app via Bluetooth, and uses GPS to direct the traveller which way to walk by gently vibrating various sensors in the shoe.

Miners led the downside, after copper prices sank to their lowest levels since February.

Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Glencore and Rio Tinto shares were all suffering losses in afternoon trading.

Antofagasta joined them, after its chairman Jean-Paul Luksic told investors at the firm’s annual general meeting that it expects copper prices to remain low for up to three years.

"As we look forward we are not counting on an improved macroeconomic environment although we have recently seen some positive signals to this effect. We are expecting another year or two of low copper prices."

Fashion house Burberry was also under pressure, as it announced £100m in cost savings to help it cope with a “challenging” environment.

"We continue to see significant opportunities ahead of us and have put ambitious plans in place to increase future revenue, enhance productivity and create a more efficient organisation,” said chief creative and chief executive officer Christopher Bailey.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Ashtead Group (AHT) 962.50p 3.77%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 69.54p 3.36%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 221.60p 3.31%
Barclays (BARC) 169.10p 2.95%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,470.00p 2.30%
Standard Life (SL.) 327.40p 2.28%
Aviva (AV.) 428.60p 1.78%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,068.00p 1.45%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 525.50p 1.35%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 435.50p 1.35%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 607.60p -3.36%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 420.40p -3.09%
Glencore (GLEN) 132.30p -3.08%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 838.70p -2.64%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,310.00p -2.53%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,119.00p -2.10%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 1,994.00p -1.97%
Intu Properties (INTU) 288.80p -1.94%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,139.00p -1.81%
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,837.00p -1.76%