FTSE 100 movers: Hiscox rallies; Admiral slumps on results
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 7,940.48 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
Hiscox rallied to the top of the index as it said full-year pre-tax profit fell to $44.7m from $190.8m, versus expectations for a loss of $69.2m.
Rolls-Royce was on the rise after an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ at UBS, which nearly doubled its price target to 200p from 105p as it said the shares were "abnormally cheap" despite China reopening.
The bank said: "The wide body market is heavily skewed to Asia and especially China, with 51% of 2019 wide body traffic starting or ending in Asia.
"Chinese weakness alone accounts for more than 40% of the absolute wide body traffic reduction in 2022 versus 2019, so we see China's reopening as an important and underappreciated catalyst that could bring valuations back into line with historical norms."
On the downside, insurer Admiral slumped after it cut its full-year dividend as profits fell in a "challenging" market.
Pre-tax profit declined 39% from 2021 to £469m, coming in below consensus expectations of £489.4m. Group net revenue was down 4% at £1.49bn, while group turnover increased 5% to £3.68bn.
"With the impact of the pandemic fading, spiking inflation across our markets was the big story for Admiral in 2022," the company said.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,124.00p 4.75%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 157.76p 2.99%
Haleon (HLN) 324.45p 1.37%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 632.80p 1.36%
BAE Systems (BA.) 923.00p 1.27%
Fresnillo (FRES) 717.00p 1.21%
Kingfisher (KGF) 289.70p 1.15%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 291.70p 1.14%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 340.10p 1.13%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,397.50p 1.01%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,016.00p -3.45%
Schroders (SDR) 469.90p -3.11%
SEGRO (SGRO) 789.20p -2.45%
British Land Company (BLND) 433.70p -2.39%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 655.00p -2.18%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,250.00p -2.15%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 768.50p -1.98%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 177.60p -1.93%
Unite Group (UTG) 948.00p -1.91%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 14,010.00p -1.68%