FTSE 100 movers: Supermarkets surge while airlines descend

The FTSE 100 was in the red on Monday afternoon, having finished the morning in positive territory as traders looked towards central bank decisions in the US and Japan.

3i Group was rising after Barclays Capital upped its price target to 680p, with a potential upside of 0.13%.

Also on the rise after an analyst rating update was St James’s Place, which had its ‘hold’ reiterated by Deutsche Bank.

The broker set a price target of 885p on the stock, indicating a potential increase of 1.67% from the price at the time of the update.

Supermarkets were also on the up, after a Lloyds Bank study found living near one of the big grocers boosted the value of homes.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons were all among the top risers in afternoon trading.

It was also revealed last week that Tesco would stop selling caged eggs by 2025 after a lengthy campaign led by a 14-year-old schoolgirl - the second of the big four grocers to make the move after Sainsbury’s.

Oil companies were leading the fallers, with Royal Dutch Shell and BP the biggest losers of the afternoon so far.

Analysts and traders appeared concerned about the typical retreat in American demand which comes in August and September, as holidaymakers return from summer vacations.

“People are looking ahead to the fall and are worried,” Bloomberg quoted Strategic Energy & Economic Research president Michael Lynch as saying.

“There’s more and more talk of prices going south of $40 and as a result people are going short.”

Airlines were also under pressure amid Brexit fears, with TUI, International Consolidated Airlines Group and easyJet featuring among the largest fallers.

“We have seen a number of the largest European airlines profit warn over the last month,” said UBS research analyst Jarrod Castle in a report.

“"EasyJet, IAG and now Lufthansa have all warned based on the outlook for the trading environment which over the last few months has increasingly become more difficult due to factors beyond the control of these companies.”

Investors were also shying away from Randgold Resources after it downgraded its production projections, following issues with power supply and other parts of its Tongon mine in Cote d’Ivoire.

“Tongon is now settling down well but the difficulties it faced over the past two quarters will have a negative effect on its production for the year,” said chief executive Mark Bristow.

FTSE 100 - Risers

3i Group (III) 606.50p 2.62%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 199.70p 2.20%
St James's Place (STJ) 889.50p 2.18%
Tesco (TSCO) 162.80p 1.88%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,137.00p 1.86%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,322.00p 1.77%
BT Group (BT.A) 390.60p 1.72%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 228.90p 1.69%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 182.70p 1.56%
Next (NXT) 4,943.00p 1.46%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,105.50p -1.98%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,052.50p -1.89%
BP (BP.) 445.80p -1.39%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,690.00p -1.14%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 8,750.00p -1.13%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 911.50p -1.03%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 401.80p -1.01%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,017.00p -0.97%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 53.99p -0.92%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 1,087.00p -0.91%