FTSE 100 movers: Entain surges; NatWest in the red
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Friday 14 Feb 2025
(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 8,728.62 in afternoon trade on Friday.
Entain and Flutter got a boost after US peer DraftKings lifted its 2025 revenue guidance to $6.45bn from $6.4bn in results late on Thursday.
Entain was also in focus as it emerged that US activist hedge fund Corvex Management has upped its stake to 5.3%.
Corvex announced in December 2024 that it had purchase about 28m shares of Entain, representing a stake of approximately 4.4%.
Heavily-weighted miners were among the top performers, with Glencore, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto all up.
On the downside, NatWest fell even as the bank just beat expectations as it grew its loan book and pulled in more deposits, boosted by an increase in customers.
Pre-tax operating profit rose 0.3% to £6.2bn in the 12 months to December 31 compared with estimates of £6.1bn. Net interest margin - the difference between loan and savings rates - was 1 basis point higher at 2.13%.
The bank reported a return on tangible equity of 17.5%, beating its own upgraded guidance. Total income for the year, excluding one-off items, grew by 2.2% to £14.6bn, reflecting growth in deposit margins and lending.
NatWest said it expected to achieve a return on tangible equity in the range of 15-16% this year and more than 15% by 2027. It expects to generate income of £15.2bn - £15.7bn this year.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "NatWest's numbers were solid enough - and actually came in slightly above expectations - but the 2025 outlook was only in line with the existing guidance and the market has reacted negatively to the lack of upgrades."
FTSE 100 - Risers
Entain (ENT) 738.60p 5.94%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 22,970.00p 4.31%
Glencore (GLEN) 355.35p 2.87%
Fresnillo (FRES) 817.50p 2.44%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,884.50p 2.31%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 424.20p 2.14%
SEGRO (SGRO) 734.60p 1.75%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,126.00p 1.73%
Kingfisher (KGF) 256.70p 1.62%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 8,546.00p 1.59%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 423.40p -3.11%
Schroders (SDR) 373.00p -2.76%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 339.20p -2.36%
Relx plc (REL) 4,060.00p -1.81%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 144.30p -1.57%
Diageo (DGE) 2,151.00p -1.56%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 66.30p -1.49%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 10,470.00p -1.46%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,792.00p -1.44%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,421.00p -1.38%
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