FTSE 100 movers: Miners retreat as metals prices drop; AB Foods lifted by upgrade
London's FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 7,756.69 in afternoon trade on Tuesday with miners dragging the index lower as investors digested the latest UK inflation figures.
Miners were under pressure, with Fresnillo, Antofagasta, BHP Billiton, Anglo American and Glencore all in the red as precious and base metals prices declined.
IG analyst Chris Beauchamp said: "It is more likely a pause before the next move higher - ongoing improvement in economic fundamentals means miners are still the place to be, a fact which may well help the FTSE 100 to post more record highs in the months to come."
Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto fell, in line with its peers, despite saying on Tuesday it managed to hit its iron ore export targets after a solid showing in the final quarter where it shipped a record 90m tonnes, up from 85.8m tonnes in the previous three months.
On the upside, specialty chemicals group Johnson Matthey was the standout gainer a day after Berenberg upgraded the stock to 'buy' from 'hold'.
Primark owner Associated British Foods racked up healthy gains as Barclays upped the stock to 'overweight' from 'neutral' and lifted the price target to 3,380p from 3,290p, noting that its price target offers 20% upside potential.
"We believe concerns over US Primark to be misplaced, with Primark well positioned to disrupt the market as it has done in the UK and is in the process of doing so on the European Continent. Irrespective of the success of the US, space growth potential in the continent alone at least justifies the current valuation, in our view."
Risers
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,287.00p 2.43%
NMC Health (NMC) 3,098.00p 2.18%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,594.00p 2.05%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,883.00p 1.94%
Just Eat (JE.) 805.00p 1.90%
Barclays (BARC) 198.68p 1.61%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 994.20p 1.54%
Old Mutual (OML) 233.30p 1.52%
British Land Company (BLND) 682.00p 1.46%
Tesco (TSCO) 210.90p 1.44%
Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,376.00p -3.64%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,003.50p -3.37%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,613.00p -2.83%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,060.00p -2.70%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,738.60p -2.52%
BP (BP.) 519.30p -2.52%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,326.00p -2.15%
Glencore (GLEN) 401.25p -2.03%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,206.00p -2.01%
ITV (ITV) 169.20p -1.60%