FTSE 100 movers: Easyjet soars on higher earnings outlook, insurers extend gains
London markets edged lower on Wednesday after the Bank of England's rate-setting meeting had investors fretting about inflation risks.
Anglo American
1,951.80p
16:40 28/03/24
ARM Holdings
1,700.00p
17:09 02/09/16
BHP Group Limited NPV (DI)
2,275.00p
16:40 28/03/24
Direct Line Insurance Group
195.05p
16:40 28/03/24
easyJet
570.80p
16:45 28/03/24
Fresnillo
469.90p
17:05 28/03/24
FTSE 100
7,952.62
17:14 28/03/24
FTSE 350
4,383.21
17:14 28/03/24
FTSE All-Share
4,338.05
16:50 28/03/24
Insurance (non-life)
3,758.55
17:14 28/03/24
Mining
9,418.88
17:14 28/03/24
Randgold Resources Ltd.
6,546.00p
17:00 28/12/18
Rio Tinto
5,017.00p
17:00 28/03/24
RSA Insurance Group Limited
684.20p
16:54 28/05/21
Sage Group
1,265.50p
16:40 28/03/24
Software & Computer Services
2,487.67
17:14 28/03/24
Technology Hardware & Equipment
1,920.18
16:30 25/03/24
Travel & Leisure
7,949.88
17:14 28/03/24
As of 15:00, the FTSE 100 was trading 1.4% lower at 6,672.
Leading the fallers was ARM Holdings, which dropped after the chip maker reported second quarter earnings that fell short of expectations. Positive ratings from several analysts, including at Credit Suisse and RBC, were not enough to keep the shares in positive territory on the day after iphone sales from Apple, ARM's biggest customer, disappointed.
A heavy weight on the blue chip index were a group of depressed miners, led by BHP Billiton as it trimmed its production guidance for 2016 in the face of waning prices and warned its underlying profits will be hit by a charge of between $350m to $650m from impairments and redundancies at its copper business.
BHP was also hurt by continued weakness in metal prices across the board, which also dragged Rio Tinto, Fresnillo, Randgold and Anglo American lower.
Barclays slipped as the bank denied receiving an offer from the Serious Fraud Office, relating to an investigation into its multi-billion pound fundraising during the 2008 financial crisis.
Easyjet soared to the top of the risers after the company said second half sales would spur a gain in full year earnings. Furthermore, passenger numbers were up by 6.2% to 19.1m year on year, and the airline increased its load factor by 1.3 percentage points to 91.7%.
Insurers RSA Insurance Group and Direct Line Insurance Group extended Tuesday's gains, which were sparked by the announcement of a 5% rise in car insurance premiums in the second quarter.
Shares in Sage, the smaller company accounting software provider, rose after it said organic revenue rose by 6.6% in the first nine months of the year and reiterated its expectations for at least 6% organic growth for the full year.
Risers
easyJet (EZJ) 1,729.00p +3.78%
RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 446.70p +1.48%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 363.00p +1.09%
CRH (CRH) 1,877.00p +0.86%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 564.00p +0.62%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,197.00p +0.42%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 533.00p +0.28%
Sage Group (SGE) 537.00p +0.28%
Shire Plc (SHP) 5,450.00p +0.28%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,335.00p +0.23%
Fallers
ARM Holdings (ARM) 967.50p -6.88%
Anglo American (AAL) 810.70p -5.92%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,187.00p -5.15%
Glencore (GLEN) 229.70p -4.71%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 996.00p -4.51%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,589.00p -4.10%
Fresnillo (FRES) 626.00p -3.99%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,496.50p -3.87%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 623.00p -3.86%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,903.00p -3.62%