FTSE 100 movers: Tesco rallies on JPM upgrade; Hammerson slides
London's FTSE 100 was up 0.3% to 7,154.22 in afternoon trade on Thursday.
Tesco was the standout gainer after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to 'overweight' from a rating of 'underweight' before its bid for Booker. The bank said Tesco is a visible turnaround story and the retailer will increasingly be viewed as a capital return stock.
The supermarket chain’s recent acquisition of Booker is transformational because it gives Tesco a bigger market to aim at, more than £6bn of revenue capacity and a better mix of formats as shoppers opt for online and convenience, the analysts said.
Consumer credit reporting agency Experian rallied as it agreed to buy credit-checking firm ClearScore for £275m. Experian said the acquisition will combine two well-know, high-growth UK consumer brands, both of which will be retained. It will also bring together two businesses with complementary assets and skills to improve outcomes for consumers.
Antofagasta was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' at Canaccord Genuity, which lifted its price target on the stock to 1,090p from 980p.
"While management originally stated a 35% payout ratio, we see the return of excess cash in 2017 as a significant shift in Antofagasta's capital allocation process. With shareholder returns in focus and management more capital intensity-oriented in growth plans, we think Antofagasta has leap-frogged some of its peers."
Going the other way, Hammerson was on the back foot as Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse were at odds over the company's prospects. GS added the buy-rated stock to its Conviction List, but CS cut it to 'neutral' from 'outperform' saying it was unimpressed by the proposed takeover over Intu. The bank argued it would increase Hammerson's exposure to low-growth UK markets while diluting exposure to growth in Ireland and from designer outlets.
GKN retreated as its largest customer, Airbus, suggested it would withdraw custom from the engineer if it gets taken over by turnaround specialist Melrose International.
Unilever fell as the Marmite maker said it has chosen to base its corporate headquarters in Rotterdam rather than London.
Risers
Tesco (TSCO) 215.00p 2.23%
Experian (EXPN) 1,615.00p 1.96%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 961.40p 1.61%
Halma (HLMA) 1,205.00p 1.52%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 4,025.00p 1.49%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 276.20p 1.47%
NMC Health (NMC) 3,400.00p 1.43%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,136.50p 1.29%
Prudential (PRU) 1,941.50p 1.23%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 261.30p 1.20%
Fallers
Hammerson (HMSO) 435.00p -4.73%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,930.50p -2.18%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,190.00p -2.14%
GKN (GKN) 429.70p -1.83%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,758.00p -1.75%
Unilever (ULVR) 3,759.00p -1.61%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,990.00p -1.61%
Evraz (EVR) 435.60p -1.47%
G4S (GFS) 251.30p -1.45%
Just Eat (JE.) 752.20p -1.44%