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London midday: Stocks turn up as Aviva, EasyJet rally

By Michele Maatouk

Date: Monday 27 Nov 2017

London midday: Stocks turn up as Aviva, EasyJet rally

(ShareCast News) - London stocks had turned higher by midday on Monday, boosted by a strong performance from the likes of Aviva and EasyJet in otherwise quiet trade.
The FTSE 100 was up 0.3% to 7,429.21, while the pound was flat against the euro at 1.1182 and 0.1% higher versus the dollar at 1.3347.

The week may have kicked off on a quiet note, but things were set to get a lot busier the following day, with the results of the Bank of England stress tests.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "This year's focus is once again likely to be on RBS given its failure last year, but it should also be remembered that even if the other banks pass the tests they may well have to raise extra capital or submit revised capital plans which in turn could impact any future potential dividend payout.

"This is likely to be particularly true of Lloyds which passed last year's test quite easily, however given the rise in domestic lending the bank may not have so much headroom this time around."

In corporate news, budget carrier EasyJet was the standout gainer after Exane BNP Paribas upped the stock to 'neutral', while GlaxoSmithKline was boosted by an upgrade from UBS.

Elsewhere, Aviva was a high riser following a Sunday Times report suggesting the company is planning a £1bn buyback.

AstraZeneca edged up after submitting a supplemental new drug application to Japan's drug regulator for its Tagrisso to be given as a first-line treatment of patients with certain types of non-small cell lung cancer.

Ocado racked up strong gains as Credit Suisse reiterated its 'outperform' rating on the stock and said weakness was overdone.

LondonMetric rose as it exchanged on the sale of an Odeon cinema in Derby and a retail asset in Guisborough for £18.6m.

On the downside, education publisher Pearson was under the cosh after agreeing to sell its Wall Street English business to a consortium of funds led by Baring Private Equity Asia and CITIC Capital for around $300m.

Ultra Electronics slipped despite saying has won a brace of contracts, one in the UK and one with Sweden's Saab, two weeks after the defence and security supplier issued a profit warning due to a slowdown in UK defence spending.

Micro Focus fell on the back of a downgrade to 'hold' at Deutsche Bank, while SIG and Marshall were hit by initiations at 'underweight' from Barclays.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,429.21 0.26%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,974.22 0.15%
techMARK (TASX) 3,475.04 0.24%

FTSE 100 - Risers

easyJet (EZJ) 1,393.33p 2.08%
Old Mutual (OML) 196.10p 1.82%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,320.50p 1.77%
Aviva (AV.) 507.55p 1.63%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 5,225.00p 1.46%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 604.00p 1.34%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,383.00p 1.32%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 301.50p 1.24%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,760.00p 1.15%
Prudential (PRU) 1,903.50p 1.09%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Micro Focus International (MCRO) 2,577.82p -2.91%
Pearson (PSON) 695.00p -1.84%
Centrica (CNA) 136.80p -1.58%
Barclays (BARC) 187.10p -1.19%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,052.00p -1.01%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 970.00p -0.87%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,606.00p -0.86%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 415.90p -0.74%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,348.50p -0.55%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 226.30p -0.48%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 253.60p 6.24%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 645.00p 3.78%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 261.90p 2.71%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 966.50p 2.28%
Grafton Group Units (GFTU) 745.50p 2.26%
LondonMetric Property (LMP) 183.60p 1.94%
Greencore Group (GNC) 192.00p 1.86%
Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) 85.68p 1.76%
IWG (IWG) 198.70p 1.58%
Redefine International (RDI) 37.18p 1.45%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Mitie Group (MTO) 196.10p -3.16%
Drax Group (DRX) 264.30p -2.22%
Provident Financial (PFG) 870.00p -2.03%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 820.50p -1.97%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 777.50p -1.95%
PayPoint (PAY) 937.00p -1.94%
Dignity (DTY) 1,824.00p -1.88%
Diploma (DPLM) 1,175.90p -1.76%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,335.58p -1.72%
Marshalls (MSLH) 453.00p -1.54%

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