FTSE 100 movers: Standard Chartered rallies on results, GKN drops
London's FTSE 100 was up 0.2% to 7,287.12 in afternoon trade as investors digested comments from US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who confirmed that Donald Trump plans to cut corporate tax to 15% from 35%.
Emerging markets-focused bank Standard Chartered reported a near doubling of its first-quarter profits as revenue rose and loan impairment declined.
For the quarter ended 31 March, pre-tax profit was up 94% to $1bn as revenue grew 8% to $3.6bn.
Croda International rallied as it reported a 19% rise in first-quarter sales and kept its outlook for 2017 unchanged.
Merlin Entertainments got a boost as Morgan Stanley upped its price target to 580p from 560p, saying the company's plan to add hotels to its theme parks is underappreciated by the market.
Going the other way, engineer GKN retreated after saying it had a good first quarter with organic sales growth, but warning that its growth rate may not be sustained for the full year due to tough comparators.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo lost its shine after it said gold production in the first quarter fell, but silver increased and it remains on track to meets its 2017 production guidance.
BHP Billiton also fell after a production update as it cut its guidance for copper and coal production.
Retailer Next was on the back foot as Jefferies downgraded the stock to 'underperform' from 'hold', keeping the price target at 3,500p.
The bank noted Next's share price has rallied 13% in recent weeks and, warm weather aside, it reckons the company's challenge to regain its competitive edge and overcome a shift to leisure spending is as tough as ever.
GlaxoSmithKline shares fell despite a strong first set of quarterly results from new chief executive Emma Walmsley, as the drug group grew sales better than forecast, improved profit margins and kept its dividend on track.
Helped by the weak pound, sales reached £7.4bn in the three months to the end of March, up 19% on the first quarter last year, or 5% if currency effects are excluded.
Severn Trent was hit by a downgrade to 'reduce' from 'hold' by HSBC. The bank said that of the three listed companies, Severn Trent is likely to have the greatest challenge in terms of resilience in the next decade as it will not be able to continue to abstract water at the current rate.
Risers
Standard Chartered (STAN) 760.10p 4.39%
Croda International (CRDA) 3,813.00p 4.21%
Merlin Entertainments (MERL) 499.90p 2.94%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,935.00p 1.57%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,407.00p 1.43%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,297.00p 1.32%
Tesco (TSCO) 180.05p 1.32%
Wolseley (WOS) 4,966.00p 1.26%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 822.50p 1.23%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,034.00p 1.23%
Fallers
Anglo American (AAL) 1,087.50p -3.16%
Glencore (GLEN) 303.95p -2.64%
GKN (GKN) 357.90p -2.24%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,479.00p -1.60%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,191.50p -1.24%
Next (NXT) 4,220.00p -1.22%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,580.00p -1.19%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,301.00p -1.16%
Standard Life (SL.) 365.10p -1.03%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,068.00p -1.02%