London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.7% at 7,468.15 in afternoon trade on Wednesday as investors mulled the latest UK inflation data.
Online supermarket Ocado was the worst performer on the index.
Experian fell even as the credit-checking firm posted a jump in full-year profit and revenue and highlighted significant progress in consumer services.
Steve Clayton, HL Select fund manager, who holds Experian in his portfolio, said: “Some may argue that the forward guidance from the company is a little lower than some analysts might have been hoping for. From where we sit this is more about the macro frame the company are operating in. Everyone can see that the outlook is getting weaker, with inflation gnawing away at consumers spending power. Chinese growth is being held back by its ongoing fight against Covid and Russia has thrown a particularly ugly cat amongst the pigeons in Europe.
“So why would a management offer guidance that could prove challenging to achieve, given the uncertain backdrop? Any business that can deliver the sort of growth outcome that Experian are forecasting in the current environment is doing particularly well.”
On the upside, engine maker Rolls-Royce rallied. CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: “Rolls-Royce shares have come back into favour suddenly, having slipped to 18-month lows earlier this month, the shares have risen back to their highest levels this month.”
Insurer Aviva was a top gainer after it reaffirmed annual guidance and reported an increase in general insurance sales to their best level in a decade.
Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser was boosted by an upgrade ‘outperform’ from ‘sector perform’ by RBC Capital Markets, which lifted its price target to 7,000p from 5,900p.
FTSE 100 – Risers
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 84.37p 3.89%
Aviva (AV.) 418.00p 3.04%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 472.10p 2.32%
British Land Company (BLND) 517.60p 2.17%
BP (BP.) 429.55p 1.97%
Shell (SHEL) 2,395.00p 1.89%
SSE (SSE) 1,910.00p 1.57%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,358.00p 1.08%
Entain (ENT) 1,387.00p 1.06%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,867.00p 1.06%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 737.00p -7.90%
Experian (EXPN) 2,498.00p -6.41%
Tesco (TSCO) 267.50p -3.88%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 126.90p -3.75%
Croda International (CRDA) 6,616.00p -3.42%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,629.00p -3.29%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,733.50p -3.16%
Halma (HLMA) 2,125.00p -3.06%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,517.00p -2.85%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 10,660.00p -2.69%
