(Sharecast News) – London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.1% at 7,431.00 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
Luxury fashion brand Burberry and Asia-focused insurer Prudential were the worst performers on the index.
B&M European Value Retail was among the top performers, having slumped a day earlier on the back of a rating downgrade by JPMorgan Cazenove.
Shore Capital upped its stance on the stock on Wednesday to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ and lifted the fair value to 640p from 560p on news that the discount retailer will buy up to 51 Wilko stores for £13m.
It said the acquisition is expected to enhance B&M’s presence and growth potential.
“While the exact details about the acquired stores and the integration process remain to be clarified at the interim results in November 2023, we expect that B&M’s acquisition of these stores could provide a significant boost to the company’s growth,” Shore Capital said.
Software firm Sage was also higher following an upbeat note by JPMorgan, which did a “deep dive” into Intacct, the company’s “most important product and growth engine”.
“Based on our analysis and industry discussions, we believe Intacct is a leading asset in the mid-market core financial management software space and is poised to continue taking share as its addressable market goes through a generational shift to the cloud. We believe Sage Intacct can drive upside to consensus through 1) the North America mix shift, and 2) International roll-out over time.”
FTSE 100 – Risers
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,772.00p 3.11%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 557.60p 1.79%
Sage Group (SGE) 985.60p 1.29%
SEGRO (SGRO) 722.40p 1.03%
Relx plc (REL) 2,623.00p 0.69%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 578.60p 0.63%
Diageo (DGE) 3,165.50p 0.57%
Unite Group (UTG) 918.50p 0.49%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,905.50p 0.47%
Pearson (PSON) 856.20p 0.47%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,118.00p -3.20%
Prudential (PRU) 930.80p -2.51%
Abrdn (ABDN) 157.15p -2.42%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 155.95p -2.32%
3i Group (III) 1,940.50p -2.17%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 840.00p -2.08%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,022.00p -2.06%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 977.00p -1.91%
Entain (ENT) 1,146.50p -1.76%
St James’s Place (STJ) 858.80p -1.74%
