FTSE 100 movers: Gold miners shine but Schroders drops after update
London's FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 7,000.87 in afternoon trade on Monday as investors digested the latest Brexit-related headlines.
Paddy Power Betfair was the standout gainer. Berenberg upgraded the stock to 'hold' from 'sell' last week, saying there is now upside following the recent slump in the share price.
"Plus, we think that the US opportunity is more interesting than we thought," it said, referring to its acquisition of US-based FanDuel.
Precious metals miners Randgold Resources and Fresnillo rallied as gold prices hit their highest levels since July.
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell was also on the front foot as oil prices rose on the back of growing tensions between the US and Saudi Arabia following the disappearance of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who has been missing since his visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this month. Saudi Arabia has denied being behind Khashoggi's disappearance and alleged murder and has vowed to retaliate to any potential sanctions.
On the downside, asset manager Schroders was in the red despite saying that its assets under management and administration increased 1.3% over the first nine months of the year, edging up 0.8% in the third quarter.
A pithy quarterly update from the group revealed AUMA had increased to £453bn at the end of September, thanks to growth in institutional funds.
Aerospace and defence group BAE Systems was also weaker. City Index analyst Fiona Cincotta noted that Saudi contracts are the company's "bread and butter".
FTSE 100 - Risers
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 6,310.00p 4.90%
Fresnillo (FRES) 909.00p 3.72%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,996.00p 3.67%
BT Group (BT.A) 240.70p 2.03%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,387.00p 1.87%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,562.50p 1.83%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,449.40p 1.40%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,544.50p 1.35%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,507.50p 1.19%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 152.76p 1.17%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BAE Systems (BA.) 563.20p -3.59%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 165.80p -2.76%
Schroders (SDR) 2,766.00p -2.64%
British Land Company (BLND) 554.60p -2.60%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,765.50p -2.27%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 795.80p -2.14%
SEGRO (SGRO) 590.40p -2.09%
Rightmove (RMV) 425.60p -1.90%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,208.00p -1.82%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,959.00p -1.78%