FTSE 100 movers: DS Smith rallies ahead of results; Morrisons retreats
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2% at 7,172.64 in afternoon trade on Wednesday amid renewed optimism over a trade deal between the US and China, but a stronger pound capped gains.
Packaging business DS Smith was the standout gainer a day ahead of its half-year results.
Online grocer Ocado was in the green, having slumped earlier in the week after it announced a £500m bond issue to help fund its Ocado Solutions business and for general corporate purposes.
Chilean copper miner Antofagasta and Russian steelmaker Evraz were on the rise amid hopes of a Sino-US trade deal.
On the downside, Morrisons was weaker after the supermarket chain appointed current chief finance and commercial officer Trevor Strain to the role of chief operating officer and trading director Michael Gleeson to the role of chief financial officer.
Elsewhere, property investment and development company Segro was in the red after a downgrade to ‘underperform’ from ‘sector perform’ at RBC Capital Markets.
"We believe the 35x price-to-earnings multiple Segro’s shares currently trade on is very demanding of the group's growth prospects," it said.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 378.90p 2.88%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,225.00p 2.60%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 776.80p 2.56%
Meggitt (MGGT) 634.00p 2.46%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,800.00p 2.39%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 865.00p 2.34%
Evraz (EVR) 353.40p 2.32%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 276.70p 2.22%
Next (NXT) 6,700.00p 2.01%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 861.60p 1.80%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 555.00p -4.74%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 191.35p -2.15%
Sage Group (SGE) 720.20p -1.61%
SEGRO (SGRO) 853.60p -1.43%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,659.50p -1.34%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,495.00p -1.15%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,337.00p -0.96%
Diageo (DGE) 3,089.50p -0.90%
Pearson (PSON) 627.80p -0.82%
Experian (EXPN) 2,456.00p -0.69%