London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.7% at 7,269.73 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.
Reckitt Benckiser surged to the top of index after it upgraded its 2021 revenue outlook as the consumer goods company reported a 3.3% increase in like-for-like net revenue to £3.28bn in the third quarter. The maker of Finish dishwasher tablets and Durex condoms said it expected annual like-for-like net revenue to increase by 1-3% – up from earlier guidance of 0-2%.
Premier Inn owner Whitbread was also trading up after it narrowed interim losses as sales rebounded ahead of expectations, with room revenues potentially hitting full recovery “at some point” in 2022 despite “challenging” supply chain issues and labour shortages.
Discount retailer B&M European Value Retail was in the black after an upgrade to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’ at JPMorgan.
Ladbrokes owner Entain was under the cosh after US-based DraftKings said it will not be making an offer for the London-listed gambling group. In September, DraftKings proposed 2,800p a share in cash and stock for Entain, which also owns Coral.
Polymetal lost its shine after it said third-quarter gold equivalent production had fallen 8% year-on-year to 437,000 ounces.
Ocado was weaker after Credit Suisse reiterated its ‘underperform’ rating on shares of the online supermarket and cut the price target to 1,500p from 1,550p as it said there was “little room for new optimism”.
FTSE 100 – Risers
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,828.00p 6.53%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,275.00p 3.80%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 640.20p 3.69%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 162.06p 3.66%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 667.80p 3.37%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,484.50p 3.09%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,698.00p 2.62%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,833.50p 2.57%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,983.00p 2.57%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 381.90p 2.52%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Entain (ENT) 1,989.50p -6.90%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,386.50p -2.22%
Fresnillo (FRES) 903.40p -2.12%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,795.00p -1.75%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,459.50p -1.45%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 585.20p -1.32%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,434.00p -1.02%
BAE Systems (BA.) 568.20p -1.01%
BHP Group (BHP) 1,984.40p -0.58%
Avast (AVST) 560.20p -0.21%
