FTSE 100 movers: Fresnillo shines; Morrisons drops after Kantar data

London's FTSE 100 was flat at 7,415.36 in afternoon trade on Tuesday, with investors cautious amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran, while weak UK retail sales figures also weighed on the mood.

Paper and packaging companies DS Smith and Smurfit Kappa racked up the strongest gains.

Elsewhere, precious metals miner Fresnillo rallied as gold prices hit a six-year high amid rising geopolitical tensions.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, summed things up nicely: "Four things are really driving gold - falling yields, a weaker dollar, a soft macroeconomic outlook and geopolitical risks rising in the Middle East."

Credit-checking firm Experian was in the red after Macquarie downgraded its stance on the shares to 'neutral'.

Supermarket chain Morrisons was weaker as the latest data from Kantar showed that its sales fell 0.5% in the 12 weeks to 16 June and its market share declined to 10.4% from 10.6% in the same period last year.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Smith (DS) (SMDS) 356.70p 3.15%
3i Group (III) 1,089.50p 2.49%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,381.00p 2.36%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 910.00p 1.79%
Fresnillo (FRES) 903.00p 1.64%
Evraz (EVR) 649.40p 1.63%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 207.30p 1.52%
BAE Systems (BA.) 492.10p 1.34%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,768.50p 1.29%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 829.80p 1.24%