FTSE 100 movers: IAG flies higher on upgrades; Reckitt tumbles

dl reckitt benckiser consumer products dettol hand sanitiser covid 19 coronavirus ftse 100 min — Reckitt Benckiser GroupSharecast graphic / Josh White

London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 7,747.0 in afternoon trade on Friday.

British Airways and Iberia owner IAG flew higher after upgrades to ‘outperform’ at both Raymond James and at BNPP Exane.

Vodafone rallied as it emerged that Swisscom will take over the London-listed company’s Italian unit for €8bn, creating the country's second-largest broadband provider.

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust advanced after saying it was making at least £1bn available for buybacks over the next two years.

Smurfit Kappa gained after an upgrade to ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley.

Reckitt Benckiser tumbled amid concerns about baby formula compensation.

According to Reuters, an Illinois jury has ordered Reckitt unit Mead Johnson to pay $60m to the mother of a premature baby who died of an intestinal disease after being fed the company's Enfamil baby formula.

The jury in an Illinois state court in St. Clair County on Wednesday found that Mead Johnson was negligent and that it failed to warn of the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

The disease, which causes the death of bowel tissue, mostly affects premature newborns and has a fatality rate of about 15% to 40%.

The $60 million verdict includes compensation for plaintiff Jasmine Watson's loss and grief, and for the pain and suffering of her baby, Chance Dean, Reuters said.

Intertek was knocked lower by a downgrade to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’ at Shore Capital, which cited a "very full valuation".

"The testing and assurance services specialist to industry globally likes to test our valuation thoughts," Shore said.

"We fundamentally like these activities, being a necessary and growing element within the global economy, underpinning quality companies’ operations.

"However, growth rates are linked closely to GDP exposure and these services are delivered on a B2B basis in a competitive market. The margin ceiling is surely determined by visible returns on capital."

FTSE 100 - Risers

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 158.40p 6.34%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 69.71p 5.48%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 811.80p 3.94%
Centrica (CNA) 133.05p 2.54%
Glencore (GLEN) 426.85p 2.30%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,570.00p 2.23%
Croda International (CRDA) 4,748.00p 1.93%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,344.00p 1.87%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 342.00p 1.76%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,727.00p 1.64%