FTSE 100 movers: Ocado rallies on double upgrade; Tesco takes a hit
London's FTSE 100 was up 0.4% to 7,059.31 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.
Ocado was the standout gainer after Bank of America Merrill Lynch double-upgraded the stock to 'buy' and said the online grocery specialist is "back in buying territory" and offering supermarkets a "unique" tool to combat Amazon.
"We remain supportive of the online business model developed in the UK, flagging the unique shopping experience, high quality of service and strong proprietary technology behind it," Merrill said.
Elsewhere, education publisher Pearson was on the rise ahead of a nine-month trading update on Wednesday. Liberum noted that this is usually the point at which the company has greater visibility on the full year as the US higher education selling season comes to an end and it starts to get some visibility on the level of returns coming through in the market.
"The recent share price fall suggests some concerns over the numbers and our view is that, while it is unclear whether Pearson will lower guidance, we think the tone will be cautious for several reasons," Liberum said.
Paddy Power Betfair was in the green despite being fined £2.2m by the Gambling Commission for failing to protect customers with signs of problem gambling and for failing to stop stolen money being gambled.
An investigation by the commission found that the company failed to adequately interact with customers displaying signs of problem gambling and to carry out anti-money laundering checks.
On the downside,Tesco and Sainsbury both retreated following the release of the latest Kantar Worldpanel survey. It showed that Tesco lost market share in the 12 weeks to 7 October, while Sainsbury's was the slowest growing of the 'big four' again.
British American Tobacco lost ground even as it said it expected to grow earnings in double figures for the full year.
Johnson Matthey, which makes emission control technologies and supplies Volvo, was weaker after the Swedish company warned that some of its vehicle engines may exceed emissions limits.
Just Eat was on the back foot despite an upgrade to 'hold' at from 'sell' at Deutsche Bank.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 830.60p 5.17%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,063.00p 4.59%
Pearson (PSON) 824.40p 4.04%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,569.00p 3.63%
Experian (EXPN) 1,792.00p 3.40%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 6,500.00p 3.34%
Halma (HLMA) 1,299.00p 3.26%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 891.60p 2.88%
Croda International (CRDA) 4,590.00p 2.75%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,253.00p 2.64%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Tesco (TSCO) 207.60p -3.89%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,235.50p -2.87%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 284.90p -2.70%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,667.80p -1.94%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,537.50p -1.91%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 300.00p -1.77%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,043.00p -1.68%
Glencore (GLEN) 313.80p -1.52%
Just Eat (JE.) 613.20p -1.19%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 57.13p -1.04%