FTSE 100 movers: Travel companies soar as miners sink

Travel companies Easyjet and International Consolidated Airlines Group were boosted by the fall in oil prices, on hopes that lower fuel costs will boost profitability.

Dixons Carphone was also among the risers after it emerged earlier this week that it surpassed its Christmas store opening targets. The firm initially aimed to open 30 Carphone Warehouse store-in-stores in Curry’s / PC World outlets, but managed to open an extra two ahead of its self-imposed December deadline.

Sports Direct was subdued despite saying that underlying profits rose by a tenth in the first half as decent top-line growth was met with a strong improvement in margins - a result that the sports retailer described as “solid”.

Mining heavyweights Randgold, Glencore, Anglo American and Fresnillo all plummeted on the back of global growth concerns, providing a drag on the FTSE 100.

A number of stocks were trading lower after going ex-dividend, including Aberdeen Asset Management, Babcock and 3I Group.

Whitbread, the owner of Costa coffee, Premier Inn and Beefeater, underwhelmed with a slight slowdown in like-for-like sales growth in the third quarter to 6%, from 7% in the first half.

Risers

Legal & General Group (LGEN) 248.10p +2.82%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 468.80p +1.80%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,671.00p +1.70%
Carnival (CCL) 2,781.00p +1.35%
Next (NXT) 6,555.00p +1.31%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,480.00p +1.15%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,576.00p +1.09%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 434.00p +1.02%
G4S (GFS) 281.10p +0.97%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,214.00p +0.96%

Fallers

Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,171.00p -4.58%
Fresnillo (FRES) 736.50p -4.35%
Glencore (GLEN) 294.25p -3.93%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 424.60p -3.19%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,169.50p -3.15%
3i Group (III) 435.20p -3.10%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,080.00p -2.88%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,059.00p -2.67%
BG Group (BG.) 850.60p -2.50%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 708.50p -2.48%