London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.7% at 7,557.11 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
Corrugated packaging group Smurfit Kappa was the worst performer on the index, closely followed by JD Sports Fashion.
On the upside, tobacco company Imperial Brands rallied after saying it had made “good progress” in delivering on its strategic objectives in the six months ended 31 March, with the group continuing to perform in line with the five-year strategy launched in 2021. The company said it was on track to deliver full-year results in line with revised guidance issued on 15 March. British American Tobacco also rose.
Matt Britzman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “We’re still yet to hear any real details on how these are progressing, except the fact losses in the division are expected to reign in slightly. With full-year group sales expected to grow 0-1%, there needs to be some movement on next generation products soon to start giving markets something to get excited about again.
“In the meantime, though, a 9% dividend isn’t bad to be sitting on but it’d be nice if the investment case was based on more than just a lofty yield.”
Elsewhere, educational publisher Pearson was also a high riser after an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Citi.
FTSE 100 – Risers
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,662.50p 2.88%
Pearson (PSON) 777.40p 1.70%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,283.00p 1.69%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 523.00p 0.65%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 12,905.00p 0.58%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 533.00p 0.57%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 126.08p 0.48%
Diageo (DGE) 3,997.00p 0.44%
National Grid (NG.) 1,216.00p 0.41%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,710.00p 0.36%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,138.00p -5.79%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 146.25p -4.97%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 981.80p -4.86%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 8,592.00p -4.53%
ITV (ITV) 78.30p -4.51%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 133.38p -4.51%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,604.00p -4.24%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,503.00p -4.03%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,577.00p -4.02%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,733.00p -4.02%
