FTSE 100 movers: Kingfisher surges on guidance upgrade; Beazley slides

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 9,596.29 in afternoon trade on Tuesday. B&Q owner Kingfisher shot to the top of the index as it upgraded its full-year outlook despite market conditions softening in the UK and Poland during the third quarter.

Profit guidance was lifted to between £540m to £570m, from £480m to £540m.

Lloyds, NatWest and Barclays rallied after the Financial Times reported that Chancellor Reeves was preparing to spare the sector from a tax raid in Wednesday's Budget.

On the downside, insurer Beazley tanked as it cut its forecast for growth in full-year insurance written premiums to flat to low single digits. In first-half results in August, the company had guided to FY premium growth of low-to-mid single digits.

Intertek slumped after group organic growth for July to October came in slightly weaker than expected at 4.1%, versus consensus of 4.5%.

Low cost airline easyJet flew lower even as it upgraded forecasts for its holiday division after posting a 9% rise in full-year pre-tax earnings to a better-than-expected £655m.

Catering firm Compass fell despite reporting strong underlying sales growth in the fiscal year to 30 September, driven by a solid performance in North America and good client retention.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Kingfisher (KGF) 307.80p 5.27% Airtel Africa (AAF) 309.00p 4.53% Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 44.53p 3.31% Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,671.00p 2.97% Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 89.86p 2.84% NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 598.40p 2.64% Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 386.70p 2.19% Anglo American (AAL) 2,791.00p 2.05% Vodafone Group (VOD) 92.16p 1.97% Barclays (BARC) 408.35p 1.93%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Beazley (BEZ) 782.50p -9.01% Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,652.00p -4.48% easyJet (EZJ) 464.30p -3.35% Compass Group (CPG) 2,380.00p -2.82% Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 639.40p -2.08% Fresnillo (FRES) 2,448.00p -2.00% Pearson (PSON) 990.00p -1.69% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 72.64p -1.25% Severn Trent (SVT) 2,767.00p -1.18% Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,588.00p -1.15%