London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 7,335.73 in afternoon trade on Monday.
B&M European Value Retail was in the red after downgrades by both Goldman Sachs and RBC Capital Markets.
Goldman downgraded the shares to ‘sell’ from ‘neutral’ and cut the price target to 580p from 620p. It said that while it regards B&M as a best-in-class European discount format, the current disrupted supply chain and elevated input costs drive a flat earnings per share outlook for FY22-25.
RBC Capital Markets downgraded the stock to ‘underperform’ from ‘sector perform’ and reduced the price target to 575p from 600p.
It said B&M remains a well-managed retailer with a strong track record, but it sees more earnings momentum and valuation upside for some other stocks in the sector. The bank cut its FY23-24 EPS forecasts slightly, due to a tougher outlook.
Miners were also on the back foot as copper prices fell, with Antofagasta, Glencore, BHP and Anglo American all lower.
On the upside, Avast was the top gainer after NortonLifeLock satisfied the US antitrust condition for its acquisition of the cybersecurity firm.
Shell was a high riser after the oil giant announced plans to abandon its dual share structure and move its tax residence to the UK from the Netherlands.
FTSE 100 – Risers
Avast (AVST) 599.60p 7.30%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,220.00p 4.06%
Royal Mail (RMG) 448.60p 3.44%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 471.70p 2.19%
Admiral Group (ADM) 2,983.00p 1.81%
M&G (MNG) 199.90p 1.60%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,966.50p 1.55%
Rightmove (RMV) 736.00p 1.52%
Royal Dutch Shell ‘A’ (RDSA) 1,664.00p 1.39%
British Land Company (BLND) 521.00p 1.20%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 574.80p -4.10%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,449.50p -2.59%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,284.00p -2.23%
Glencore (GLEN) 359.90p -2.17%
Evraz (EVR) 607.60p -2.00%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,922.60p -1.95%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,839.50p -1.78%
Darktrace (DARK) 572.00p -1.72%
St James’s Place (STJ) 1,581.00p -1.62%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 626.60p -1.51%
