FTSE 100 movers: Just Eat fails to deliver; WPP rallies on Q1 update

Online food delivery service Just Eat was weaker as it posted a smaller-than-expected jump in first-quarter group orders and a slowdown in UK orders.

In the three months to 31 March 2019, group orders rose 21% on the year on a like-for-like basis to £61.4m versus expectations for growth of 23.2%. Meanwhile, UK growth slowed to 7.4% from 24% in the same period a year ago, missing expectations of 9.6% growth.

RBS was also on the back foot as it warned that uncertainty over Brexit would weigh on income growth as falling revenue drove a 16% drop in first-quarter profit. Operating profit before tax for the three months to the end of March dropped to £1.01bn from £1.21bn a year earlier as total income fell to £3.04bn from £3.30bn.

Glencore fell after the Swiss miner and commodity trader said it was being investigated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission over possible corrupt practices that may have led to the violation of some regulations.

AstraZeneca declined after its first-quarter results, while education publisher Pearson retreated as it posted a 2% rise in Q1 underlying revenue.

Insurers Admiral and Direct Line were in the red as FTSE 250 peer Hastings tumbled after it reported a 1% drop in first-quarter net revenue.

Going the other way, WPP was the standout gainer after the advertising group backed its 2019 guidance as it posted a rise in first-quarter revenue but a drop in like-for-like revenue due to "significant" client losses last year, mostly in the US.

Reported revenue was up 0.9% from the same period a year ago to £3.6bn, but LFL revenue declined 2.8%.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said that while the update might ring some alarm bells at first glance, this was more or less exactly what the market was expecting.

FTSE 100 - Risers

WPP (WPP) 957.60p 5.70%
BT Group (BT.A) 229.60p 2.07%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 2,268.00p 1.93%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 219.70p 1.71%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 141.94p 1.66%
Centrica (CNA) 105.80p 1.58%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,748.00p 1.51%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 661.60p 1.50%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 218.80p 1.44%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,554.00p 1.39%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Just Eat (JE.) 708.00p -5.42%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 241.00p -3.60%
Glencore (GLEN) 312.70p -2.72%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,155.50p -1.70%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,204.00p -1.69%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 5,791.00p -1.66%
BP (BP.) 561.10p -1.44%
Pearson (PSON) 853.00p -1.39%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 337.50p -1.32%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,464.00p -1.28%