FTSE 100 movers: SVT, United Utilities recover some ground; L&G hit by downgrade

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 8,197.09 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.

Severn Trent and United Utilities were among the gainers, having fallen on Tuesday after Ofwat said it was expanding its investigation into how water companies manage their wastewater treatment works and networks to include the two.

Antofagasta was under the cosh after the Chilean copper miner warned annual production would be at the lower end of guidance.

Total production for 2024 is now expected to be at the lower end of the company’s guidance for between 670,000 and 710,000 tonnes.

Legal & General was hit by a downgrade to sector perform’ from ‘outperform’ at RBC Capital Markets, which said the pension risk transfer (PRT) market has lost some of its lustre.

RBC slashed its target price for the stock from 295p to 245p, suggesting only minimal upside from Tuesday's closing price of 230p.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Severn Trent (SVT) 2,520.00p 1.90%
BT Group (BT.A) 140.25p 1.89%
Fresnillo (FRES) 636.00p 1.76%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,079.00p 1.55%
Barclays (BARC) 230.85p 1.54%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 70.40p 1.47%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,728.00p 1.41%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,010.00p 1.30%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,071.00p 1.27%
BP (BP.) 451.00p 0.99%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,041.00p -4.09%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,650.00p -2.39%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 2,158.00p -2.35%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 573.00p -2.29%
Sage Group (SGE) 1,039.50p -1.84%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,948.00p -1.81%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 879.00p -1.59%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 831.00p -1.54%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,398.00p -1.50%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 227.00p -1.48%