FTSE 100 movers: SLA rallies but Hargreaves Lansdown hit by Woodford news
London's FTSE 100 was up 0.2% to 7,196.50 in afternoon trade on Tuesday as investors welcomed positive comments from China and Mexico on trade relations with the US.
Standard Life Aberdeen was the standout gainer on the top-flight index, with traders suggesting that it could get inflows from platforms that will remove Woodford.
Shares in Hargreaves Lansdown fell as the financial advisor got caught up in the crisis engulfing Woodford Investment Management.
Neil Woodford, one of the UK’s most high-profile stock pickers, was forced to suspend his flagship Woodford Equity Income Fund on Monday following a jump in redemptions.
Hargreaves Lansdown removed the Woodford Equity Income Fund from its Wealth 50 list of favourite funds following the suspension, along with another fund, the Woodford Income Focus Fund.
But investors in Hargreaves were concerned about the firm's own exposure to the Woodford Equity Income Fund. Emma Wall, head of investment analysis at Hargreaves, told the BBC that less than 7% of its ten portfolios, which total around £8.6bn, were invested in the fund, or around £700m.
Elsewhere, GlaxoSmithKline was in the red even as it said the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had given a positive opinion on its Nucala drug to be self-administered to treat severe asthma.
The EMA's human medicines committee (CHMP) cleared the drug mepolizumab, branded as Nucala, and recommended two new methods for administering the drug to patients with severe eosinophils asthma.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 273.35p 4.73%
BT Group (BT.A) 202.60p 4.00%
easyJet (EZJ) 882.60p 3.25%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,931.60p 3.24%
Aviva (AV.) 415.90p 3.18%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,008.00p 2.97%
Prudential (PRU) 1,600.00p 2.96%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 133.72p 2.89%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 717.80p 2.84%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 461.80p 2.83%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 2,120.00p -4.85%
Sage Group (SGE) 724.80p -3.46%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,137.00p -2.94%
Croda International (CRDA) 5,020.00p -1.86%
Pearson (PSON) 777.80p -1.67%
Relx plc (REL) 1,825.00p -1.51%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,528.80p -1.32%
Experian (EXPN) 2,373.00p -1.17%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,860.80p -1.11%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,986.50p -1.04%