London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.7% at 7,537.60 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
SSE was the standout gainer after it posted a 23% increase in full-year pre-tax profit. The shares fell sharply on Tuesday on reports that Chancellor Rishi Sunak had ordered a plan for a windfall tax on electricity generators.
Elsewhere, tobacco company Imperial Brands was boosted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Goldman Sachs.
Going the other way, online supermarket Ocado slumped after Ocado Retail – its 50/50 joint venture with Marks & Spencer – cut its outlook. It now expects that sales growth in FY22 will be in the low single digits rather than the 10% it had guided to previously.
Severn Trent was weaker despite reporting a jump in annual revenues as consumption returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Prudential fell as the insurer said it had appointed Anil Wadhwani as group chief executive officer with effect from 25 February. Wadhwani, who will be based in Hong Kong, will join from Manulife, where he was president & CEO for Asia.
JD Sports was also in the red following disappointing results from Dick’s Sporting Goods in the US, which posted a drop in first-quarter sales and cut its outlook for the year.
FTSE 100 – Risers
SSE (SSE) 1,864.00p 5.55%
WPP (WPP) 906.60p 3.54%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,840.00p 3.08%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,580.50p 2.64%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 566.80p 2.42%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 81.93p 2.31%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,700.00p 2.08%
ITV (ITV) 72.20p 2.06%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,746.50p 2.02%
Rightmove (RMV) 567.80p 1.98%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 733.40p -4.13%
Severn Trent (SVT) 3,058.00p -2.86%
Prudential (PRU) 985.00p -2.33%
RS Group (RS1) 890.00p -1.98%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,550.00p -1.71%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 117.45p -1.55%
British Land Company (BLND) 519.60p -1.48%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 228.90p -1.46%
Avast (AVST) 483.00p -1.43%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,119.50p -1.41%
