FTSE 100 movers: ITV boosted by Morgan Stanley upgrade; BAE hit by downgrade
London's FTSE 100 was flat at 7,437.62 in afternoon trade.
Broadcaster ITV was the standout performer after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to 'overweight' from 'equalweight'. The bank said the stock's valuation is very attractive and news flow is about to improve.
Centrica was also underpinned by a broker note, as JPMorgan Cazenove lifted it to 'neutral' from 'underweight' and upped the price target to 205p from 180p, noting that the worst case scenario was now off the table after the Queen's Speech left out any mention of an energy price cap.
"The UK general election is shaping to be a tipping point for UK supply markets, with a weakened Tory government opting for further consultation on energy market reform rather than pressing ahead with a market-wide price cap," it said.
"In doing so, the government has effectively taken off the table the ‘worst case’ scenario we had feared."
Going the other way, BAE Systems retreated as JPMorgan Cazenove cut the stock to 'neutral' from 'overweight' and removed it from its Analyst Focus List, mostly on valuation grounds. "The main reason is valuation after a circa 40% rally in the shares since January 4, 2016."
AstraZeneca retreated even as it said the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion, recommending the marketing authorisation of Faslodex for the treatment of hormone receptor-positive, locally-advanced or metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
Glencore was on the back foot after it bumped up its offer for Rio Tinto's interest in Coal & Allied Industries (C&A) to $2.68bn in cash plus a coal price-linked royalty, from a previous offer of $2.55bn.
The company pointed out that its bid is at least $225m greater than Yancoal's proposal and that the full cash consideration is payable in full on completion, with no deferred payments.
Risers
ITV (ITV) 181.40p 2.54%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,597.00p 2.37%
Old Mutual (OML) 197.20p 1.54%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,032.00p 1.47%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 343.30p 1.30%
Hammerson (HMSO) 589.00p 1.20%
Centrica (CNA) 208.80p 1.16%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,139.00p 1.15%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 908.50p 1.11%
BT Group (BT.A) 285.05p 1.08%
Fallers
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,344.00p -3.10%
BAE Systems (BA.) 649.50p -2.26%
Shire Plc (SHP) 4,530.00p -2.08%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,903.00p -1.76%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,364.00p -1.38%
DCC (DCC) 7,105.00p -1.32%
Diageo (DGE) 2,307.00p -1.24%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 5,443.00p -1.18%
Glencore (GLEN) 278.55p -1.17%
Anglo American (AAL) 968.70p -1.02%