London’s FTSE 100 was down 1% at 7,520.11in afternoon trade on Thursday.
Sainsbury’s and WPP were both weaker as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.
Retailers were also under the cosh, with B&Q owner Kingfisher, Ocado and B&M European Value Retail all down.
On the upside, Melrose was the standout gainer as the GKN owner launched a £500m share buyback programme.
Entain was higher after JPMorgan, which rates the shares at ‘overweight’, said it was “the most appealing equity story” in the European gaming sector, with solid execution and double-digit earnings per share growth.
It also highlighted sound leverage with solid cash conversion to underpin further M&A, cheap stub/valuation, potential bid support and a relatively better ESG profile.
FTSE 100 – Risers
Melrose Industries (MRO) 164.70p 4.44%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 126.02p 1.24%
Entain (ENT) 1,468.00p 1.00%
Avast (AVST) 487.20p 0.87%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 144.70p 0.49%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,760.00p 0.44%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,956.00p 0.41%
Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 6,140.00p 0.23%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,500.50p 0.13%
Glencore (GLEN) 538.70p 0.13%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 208.20p -6.38%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,354.00p -4.62%
Kingfisher (KGF) 245.00p -4.26%
WPP (WPP) 875.00p -4.14%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 915.00p -3.95%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 362.50p -3.18%
3i Group (III) 1,163.50p -2.96%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 653.80p -2.82%
RS Group (RS1) 920.00p -2.80%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,484.50p -2.75%
