FTSE 100 movers: Smith & Nephew rallies on Elliott reports; Mondi tanks on warning
London's FTSE 100 was flat at 7,535.52 in afternoon trade on Wednesday as investors eyed the release of the latest FOMC minutes.
Smith & Nephew was the standout gainer on the back of speculation that US activist investor Elliott Management was building a stake in the artificial limbs group.The hedge fund has built a stake in the maker of replacement knees and hips, Bloomberg reported overnight, though it was not yet known how many shares the activist investor owns.
EasyJet and IAG flew higher. IG analyst Joshua Mahony said: "Despite the disruption caused by yesterday’s French air traffic control strike, the likes of easyJet and IAG remain amongst the market leaders this morning, with investors hoping there will be upside for such firms in the wake of the Ryanair cancellations and Monarch collapse."
NMC Health was boosted by an initiation at 'overweight' by CI Capital Holdings.
On the downside, Mondi tanked after warning that full-year profits will be below expectations, pinning the blame on rising costs and currency movements.
The paper and packaging company did confirm underlying operating profit of €245m in its third quarter to 30 September in the trading update - an improvement of 8% year-on-year - which was due to higher sales of containerboard and fibre packaging.
Next was also under the cosh after Morgan Stanley cut the stock to 'underweight' from 'equalweight'. It said Next's profits are not likely to collapse, but the UK clothing retail giant's core business is "deteriorating."
Risers
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,409.00p 3.68%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,290.00p 2.95%
Whitbread (WTB) 4,009.00p 2.93%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,902.00p 2.40%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 622.50p 2.38%
Centrica (CNA) 179.30p 1.82%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 7,630.00p 1.26%
SSE (SSE) 1,389.00p 1.24%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,370.00p 1.23%
Old Mutual (OML) 196.60p 0.92%
Fallers
Mondi (MNDI) 1,935.00p -7.37%
WPP (WPP) 1,363.00p -2.57%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,227.00p -2.20%
Next (NXT) 5,040.00p -1.47%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 273.90p -1.30%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,381.00p -1.11%
ITV (ITV) 174.60p -0.96%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 66.46p -0.95%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 367.30p -0.92%
BT Group (BT.A) 274.55p -0.90%