FTSE 100 movers: NMC Health rallies on guidance; GVC and Paddy Power hit
London's FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 7,053.30 in afternoon trade on Monday.
Private healthcare provider NMC Health was the standout gainer as it provided an improved set of revenue and earnings guidance for this year and next after perking up in the second half of the year.
"The forecasts given today are impressive both in what they reveal about the growth trajectory and for their clarity. However they do not include anything for the company’s new joint venture in Saudi Arabia which is expected to be signed, sealed and delivered in the final quarter of 2018," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
"This impressive performance contrasts sharply with the difficulties faced by rival Mediclinic, which has been having problems with the more mature Swiss market where it has a significant footprint," he added.
Budget airline EasyJet and British Airways and Iberia parent IAG both flew higher as Ryanair's half-year numbers were broadly in line with expectations.
Rightmove was boosted by an upgrade to'buy' from 'sell' at UBS. It said the 20% drop in the share price since the June 2018 peak post the Silverlake bid for ZPG was overdone.
"In our view, this has created an opportunity to buy into an asset with significant pricing power and defensive characteristics at a reasonable valuation," it said.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo shone after an upgrade to 'buy' from 'neutral' at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
"With Randgold Resources merging with Barrick Gold to create the largest gold producer, RRS should soon be delisted from London. As a result, we think that Fresnillo could become the 'go to', high-quality liquid, precious stock in London," Merrill said.
It added that Fresnillo has a track record of value creation by delivering growth from small, often brownfield, high-return projects.
On the downside, GVC Holdings and Paddy Power Betfair were under the cosh following a report over the weekend that Chancellor Philip Hammond will clamp down on offshore gambling companies in the Budget next week.
FTSE 100 - Risers
NMC Health (NMC) 3,286.00p 8.45%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,117.00p 4.59%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,576.00p 3.87%
Rightmove (RMV) 436.95p 3.46%
Fresnillo (FRES) 915.80p 3.18%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,683.60p 2.80%
Royal Mail (RMG) 353.80p 2.73%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,843.00p 2.42%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 570.00p 2.33%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,710.00p 2.30%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
GVC Holdings (GVC) 937.50p -2.34%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 6,615.00p -2.07%
Centrica (CNA) 147.05p -1.44%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 299.70p -1.35%
SSE (SSE) 1,139.30p -0.93%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 282.10p -0.88%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,868.50p -0.85%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 725.00p -0.77%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 713.00p -0.72%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,043.00p -0.66%