London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 7,958.34 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.
Melrose was the top performer on the index after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the shares to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’, pointing to a better outlook for the company’s aerospace business. The price target was lifted to 181p from 160p.
The bank said it now has more confidence in Melrose’s mid-term target of 14% Ebit margins.
Equipment rental firm Ashtead rallied after it said full-year results were set to be ahead of its expectations following a strong third-quarter performance, as it highlighted “robust” end markets.
In the quarter to the end of January 2023, adjusted pre-tax profit rose 26% from the same period a year earlier to $535m, with revenue up 21% to £2.4bn. Ashtead pointed to a strong quarter across all geographies.
The company also said capital expenditure for the full year is expected to be slightly ahead of its previous guidance.
On the downside, Fresnillo lost its shine after the gold and silver miner said profits more than halved in 2022 amid volatility in precious metals prices and increased cost pressures.
FTSE 100 – Risers
Melrose Industries (MRO) 162.65p 3.66%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,938.00p 3.34%
Beazley (BEZ) 627.50p 2.78%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 523.20p 2.31%
Legal & General Group (LGEN) 267.90p 1.63%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 14,175.00p 1.43%
Prudential (PRU) 1,281.00p 1.39%
Haleon (HLN) 321.05p 1.28%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 154.52p 1.14%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 597.40p 1.12%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 743.40p -2.24%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 518.80p -2.08%
Glencore (GLEN) 492.85p -1.92%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 99.32p -1.88%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,717.00p -1.49%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 676.60p -1.02%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,622.50p -0.98%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,991.50p -0.97%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,157.00p -0.83%
British Land Company (BLND) 450.30p -0.73%
