London’s FTSE 100 was flat at 6,729.59 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
Just Eat Takeaway gained after saying it would keep up its investment drive as the food delivery company reported surging sales and a wider annual loss.
Spirax-Sarco Engineering was on the rise after it reported a better-than-expected full-year profit, with revenues in line after a stronger-than-anticipated fourth quarter.
Pearson was in the black after Bank of America Merrill Lynch hiked its price target on the stock to 895p from 770p and reiterated its ‘overweight’ rating following the release of its full-year results. The bank pointed to growing confidence in the mid-term outlook of the educational publisher and peer group re-rating.
“Shares have rallied, but Pearson is poised for a sustained return to growth – the strategy update delivered an upbeat message on positioning and long-term outlook, and we see catalysts ahead as chief executive officer Andy Bird delivers on the direct-to-consumer strategy,” ML said.
Miners were under the cosh, with Rio, Antofagasta and BHP all lower.
IG market analyst Joshua Mahony said: “Much of the 2020 gains for the likes of copper, iron ore, and nickel have been driven by Chinese activity, yet we are starting to see traders question exactly where we stand once those industrial production numbers start to normalise.”
FTSE 100 – Risers
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 7,192.00p 5.08%
M&G (MNG) 224.00p 4.28%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 11,480.00p 4.17%
Kingfisher (KGF) 293.20p 2.48%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 236.10p 2.30%
SEGRO (SGRO) 918.20p 2.11%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,140.00p 2.06%
Avast (AVST) 453.20p 1.93%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 2,650.00p 1.92%
Pearson (PSON) 820.60p 1.79%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
British Land Company (BLND) 499.20p -3.11%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 181.35p -2.45%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,684.00p -2.32%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 677.20p -2.17%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,704.50p -2.10%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 559.20p -2.00%
BHP Group (BHP) 2,157.00p -1.95%
Sage Group (SGE) 591.60p -1.89%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 291.30p -1.62%
Rightmove (RMV) 571.60p -1.45%
