FTSE 100 movers: Ashtead falls on US switch talk

Political instability in Europe hit market sentiment on Monday, with the UK's FTSE 100 falling to its lowest in nearly two weeks, dampened further by speculation that Ashtead could become the latest blue chip to leave the London market.

Ashtead was lower by midday, giving up earlier gains, amid speculation that the equipment rental firm is considering transferring its listing to the US, where it generates the bulk of its revenues.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould, said "no-one will want to see the company switch its listing to New York, especially as the firm is just one of 18 in the UK’s elite index that can point to a record of growing its dividend every year for at least a decade".

However, he pointed out that there are "many good reasons" why firms might switch their listing to overseas. "They may have a lot of staff there and incentivising them with US-listed shares or options on them could be simpler for a host of reasons, including tax and currencies. They may wish to have US-listed stock available to them as a currency for making acquisitions. And they may simply have a substantial portion of their business there. This is very definitely the case with Ashtead."

Market Movers

FTSE 100 - Risers

M&G (MNG) 203.70p 2.72%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 463.00p 1.34%
National Grid (NG.) 879.00p 1.13%
BP (BP.) 467.90p 1.12%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,140.00p 0.99%
Fresnillo (FRES) 564.00p 0.89%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 751.80p 0.78%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 14,925.00p 0.78%
Glencore (GLEN) 473.05p 0.70%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,160.00p 0.70%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Smith (DS) (SMDS) 361.20p -2.48%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 412.10p -2.21%
Compass Group (CPG) 2,193.00p -2.10%
Haleon (HLN) 323.40p -2.09%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 246.60p -2.07%
Diploma (DPLM) 4,128.00p -1.95%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 310.80p -1.92%
St James's Place (STJ) 512.00p -1.73%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,683.00p -1.72%
Diageo (DGE) 2,624.50p -1.70%