Sector movers: Oil services slide, personal goods rise
By Oliver Haill
Date: Thursday 18 Apr 2019
(Sharecast News) - On the last day of trading before the long Easter weekend, investors hunting for golden eggs found two in the personal goods sector, while the oil services sector was stunk out by one rotten egg.
The oil equipment services space was the biggest faller due to a 10% fall in the shares of Petrofac after the Iraqi oil ministry ended negotiations over the Ratawi gas hub, citing the recent bribery scandal where one of the company's former sales executives pleading guilty to taking bribes in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
The Iraqioilreport website reported the news but said there was "no indication that the ministry is taking action against Petrofac's existing projects in Iraq, or that the company has been placed on a formal blacklist".
Meanwhile, the personal goods sector was being lifted by Unilever and PZ Cussons, both of which put out encouraging trading statements.
Unilever said that underlying sales had grown 3.1% in first quarter of the year, driven by emerging markets and an improved balance between volume and price improvements. Chief executive Alan Jope said it was kept the group "on track" for sales in the lower end of the 3-5% growth range for the full year, where he reiterated guidance for an improvement in underlying operating margin and strong free cash flow.
Over at Cussons, it was a very short statement revealing that expectations for full-year profit had not worsened since January's interim results, indicating some stability in its largest geographical market, Nigeria. In January the FTSE 250 company guided to an adjusted pre-tax profit of around £70m for the year to 31 May, down from £80.1m the year before, as good performances in Europe and Asia were offset by "extremely challenging" conditions in Nigeria.
Top performing sectors so far today
Personal Goods 38,694.91 +2.51%
Construction & Materials 6,096.96 +1.72%
Automobiles & Parts 6,425.36 +1.52%
Technology Hardware & Equipment 1,149.95 +0.83%
Support Services 8,431.58 +0.74%
Bottom performing sectors so far today
Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 10,863.39 -4.61%
Aerospace and Defence 4,743.90 -1.60%
Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 14,482.93 -1.15%
Electricity 6,791.78 -1.08%
Mobile Telecommunications 3,219.53 -1.04%
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,463.63 -0.10%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,807.87 -0.25%
techMARK (TASX) 3,552.08 -0.59%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Unilever (ULVR) 4,509.50p 3.00%
CRH (CRH) 2,620.00p 2.26%
Fresnillo (FRES) 782.20p 2.25%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,186.00p 2.01%
Experian (EXPN) 2,200.00p 1.85%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 374.80p 1.82%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,351.00p 1.60%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,007.00p 1.41%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 196.05p 1.32%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,599.00p 1.14%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BAE Systems (BA.) 491.20p -3.91%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,670.00p -2.00%
Carnival (CCL) 4,038.00p -1.49%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,453.50p -1.29%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 841.80p -1.27%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 555.00p -1.25%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 5,841.00p -1.23%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 260.10p -1.22%
Centrica (CNA) 105.45p -1.17%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 65.82p -1.13%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 368.00p 5.63%
Avast (AVST) 299.20p 5.28%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 341.70p 4.34%
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 321.50p 3.54%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 967.60p 3.46%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 132.90p 3.26%
Intu Properties (INTU) 101.05p 3.11%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 198.80p 3.11%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 128.40p 2.72%
Aveva Group (AVV) 3,320.00p 2.34%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 478.61p -8.63%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 20.26p -5.42%
Drax Group (DRX) 349.80p -4.84%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 220.80p -4.66%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 808.50p -4.55%
Galliford Try (GFRD) 528.75p -4.47%
Bodycote (BOY) 849.50p -3.79%
NewRiver REIT (NRR) 227.00p -3.40%
Hays (HAS) 150.50p -3.22%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 509.40p -2.82%
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