FTSE 100 movers: Imperial Brands rallies; Carnival shares sink
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 31 Mar 2020
(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 5,583.85 in afternoon trade on Tuesday, well off earlier highs.
Imperial Brands was the standout gainer after saying that Covid-19 had no material effect on its trading so far as the cigarette and vaping company unveiled a new €3.5bn (?3.1bn) revolving credit facility with its lenders.
Flutter Entertainment rose as the UK competition regulator approved its acquisition of Canada's Stars Group after finding the combination will not lead to a worse deal for online gamblers.
Manufacturing group Melrose Industries also racked up solid gains, having tumbled on Monday after issuing a profit warning late in the day and saying it was pulling its final dividend as it reported a "significant deterioration" in end markets due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Royal Dutch Shell was in the green even after it forecast first-quarter writedowns of up to $800m as oil prices crashed in the face of a demand slump due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Smiths Group advanced even after it delayed the demerger of its medical business and scrapped its half-year dividend as the engineering group reported intensifying disruption from the outbreak.
On the downside, Carnival shares sank after the cruise operator said it was suspending its dividend payments and the repurchase of its common stock as it looks to weather the pandemic, and warned it expects to make a full-year loss.
The company will also cut back on capital expenditure and operating expenses and pursue additional financing.
"Based on these actions and assumptions regarding the impact of COVID-19, we have concluded that we will be able to generate sufficient liquidity to satisfy our obligations and remain in compliance with our existing debt covenants for the next twelve months prior to giving effect to any additional financing, which may occur," it said.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,489.00p 11.70%
Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) 7,252.00p 9.32%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 94.18p 7.63%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,347.40p 6.77%
Meggitt (MGGT) 285.10p 5.99%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 339.70p 5.73%
Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,395.20p 5.28%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,169.00p 4.80%
easyJet (EZJ) 576.80p 4.49%
British Land Company (BLND) 339.20p 4.31%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
United Utilities Group (UU.) 900.60p -4.94%
Carnival (CCL) 865.00p -4.86%
Experian (EXPN) 2,247.00p -4.30%
Tesco (TSCO) 224.00p -3.90%
Fresnillo (FRES) 673.40p -3.80%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 113.15p -3.62%
M&G (MNG) 113.70p -3.23%
Pennon Group (PNN) 1,087.50p -3.16%
Pearson (PSON) 544.00p -3.00%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 32.52p -2.91%
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