FTSE 100 movers: Rentokil rallies; WPP under the cosh

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 8,608.01 in afternoon trade on Tuesday. Pest control firm Rentokil and B&Q owner Kingfisher were the standout gainers on the index, closely followed by Barclays and easyJet.

On the downside, advertising giant WPP slumped as Bank of America Merrill Lynch said it expects first-quarter results on 25 April to show a further deterioration in like-for-like revenue growth.

"We think the market may start pricing in a cut to guidance, should macro volatility persist and absent new client wins during 2Q," the bank said.

Supermarket chains Sainsbury's and Tesco were also in the red as the latest data from Kantar showed that annual sales growth at grocery stores slowed to its lowest rate in 10 months in March as promotional activity picked up.

Take-home sales across the grocery sector rose by just 1.8% over the four weeks to 23 March when compared with last year, compared with 3.6% growth seen the previous month.

Over the period, grocery price inflation rose to 3.5%, up from 3.3% in February.

Sainsbury's was also knocked lower by a downgrade to 'neutral' at BNPP Exane.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 358.20p 3.05% Kingfisher (KGF) 259.60p 2.49% Barclays (BARC) 294.80p 2.43% easyJet (EZJ) 452.40p 2.28% Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,200.00p 2.04% Centrica (CNA) 152.30p 1.98% Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,700.50p 1.92% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 763.00p 1.87% Halma (HLMA) 2,628.00p 1.82% Admiral Group (ADM) 2,900.00p 1.75%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

WPP (WPP) 551.00p -5.20% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 230.20p -2.13% Tesco (TSCO) 327.60p -1.41% St James's Place (STJ) 965.60p -1.17% Weir Group (WEIR) 2,294.00p -1.12% Informa (INF) 762.20p -0.94% BP (BP.) 432.20p -0.89% Shell (SHEL) 2,801.50p -0.83% Bunzl (BNZL) 2,952.00p -0.47% Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,130.00p -0.39%