FTSE 100 movers: Pearson powers ahead but housebuilders hit
London's FTSE 100 was down 0.5% to 7,023.02 in afternoon trade on Wednesday as investors digested the latest inflation data and eyed any Brexit developments at the EU summit in Brussels.
Segro rose as the real estate investment trust said new leasing deals were up 43% in the nine months to September.
Pearson was on the front foot as the education publisher said it remained on track to hit full-year profit targets, with earnings receiving a large one-off tax boost.
Having previously pencilled in an adjusted effective tax rate of 20%, the company said it now was likely to receive a credit of 5-7% thanks to the reassessment of historical tax positions and one-off benefits following a review of the White House's tax reforms.
Hargreaves Lansdown was among the risers after Bernstein lifted the stock to 'market perform' from 'underperform' and upped the price target to 1,800p, saying the valuation is now justified.
On the downside, Compass was under the cosh as Morgan Stanley cut its price target on the equalweight-rated stock to 1,520p from 1,580p.
"We think Compass's upcoming FY18 results will be more interesting than usual. We look for commentary on Q4 organic sales, contract exits, Foodbuy, labour costs, capex, IFRS 15, currency, and buybacks /M&A."
The bank said it was cutting its earnings per share forecast and price target for some of the above and is "inclined to be cautious".
Berkeley Group and Persimmon were under pressure after FTSE 250 peer Crest Nicholson warned that full-year profits will be lower than expected, while margins will be below previous guidance as it announced the departure of its chief financial officer.
The company said the market environment for new homes in London and at higher price points in the South of England has been more difficult than previously anticipated and it now expects pre-tax profit for the year to the end of October to come in between £170m and £190m, which is below the £207m reported last year and consensus expectations of £204m.
FTSE 100 - Risers
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,283.50p 3.37%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 497.90p 2.71%
SEGRO (SGRO) 626.20p 2.69%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,433.50p 2.43%
Pearson (PSON) 837.20p 2.42%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 5,898.00p 2.34%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 851.40p 2.16%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 311.60p 2.03%
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,857.00p 1.73%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 4,263.00p 1.57%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
easyJet (EZJ) 1,165.50p -3.72%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,519.00p -3.37%
WPP (WPP) 1,029.50p -3.15%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,313.00p -2.56%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,016.00p -2.18%
Fresnillo (FRES) 890.20p -2.00%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,216.00p -1.90%
Ferguson (FERG) 5,553.00p -1.87%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,357.50p -1.81%
Aviva (AV.) 428.40p -1.70%