FTSE 100 movers: Mediclinic surges on Abu Dhabi news; ex-divs weigh
London's FTSE 100 was down 0.6% to 7,242.05 in afternoon trade as investors sifted through corporate news and continued to digest Trump's announcement on tax reform.
Healthcare provider Mediclinic International rocketed on news that Abu Dhabi has waived 20% of the co-payment for Thiqa health insurance card holders.
Lloyds Banking Group rallied after it reported that profits doubled in the first three months of the year.
Housebuilder Persimmon was in the black after it said current forward sales revenue, including legal completions taken to date, was up 11% to £2. 56bn, adding that it was confident on future prospects. Peer Barratt Developments rose in tandem.
Taylor Wimpey nudged a touch higher as it set aside £130m for a leasehold scandal.
On the downside, WPP declined after it said sales slowed in the first quarter due to major account losses.
Legal & General was weaker as it went ex-dividend and as Credit Suisse started coverage of the stock at 'underperform', saying it expects a number of headwinds to persist of the medium term.
"The company's future growth strategy is reliant on increasing volumes of UK annuities, where capital requirements have doubled under Solvency II. To overcome this, greater use of reinsurance is required, but we estimate this also lowers future cash flows by around 25-35%, which we think is not fully priced in."
ITV, Informa, Relx, Rolls-Royce, and Antofagasta all went ex-dividend.
Risers
Mediclinic International (MDC) 834.00p 14.09%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 69.29p 2.79%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,333.00p 2.06%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 201.40p 1.46%
Kingfisher (KGF) 331.40p 1.41%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 589.50p 1.38%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 3,389.00p 1.22%
Next (NXT) 4,286.00p 1.01%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 254.40p 0.67%
Experian (EXPN) 1,662.00p 0.61%
Fallers
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 247.80p -5.09%
ITV (ITV) 211.80p -3.46%
Informa (INF) 639.00p -2.29%
Relx plc (REL) 1,565.00p -1.94%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 810.00p -1.94%
WPP (WPP) 1,689.00p -1.92%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 826.00p -1.90%
GKN (GKN) 352.90p -1.86%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,189.00p -1.82%
Glencore (GLEN) 304.00p -1.75%