23rd Apr 2024 14:29
(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 8,033.08 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.
Primark owner Associated British Foods surged to the top of the index after it posted a jump in interim profit and revenue as it lifted its full-year profit outlook.
In the 24 weeks to 2 March, adjusted pre-tax profit rose 37% to £911m, on revenue of £9.7bn, up 2% at actual rates and 5% at constant currency. The company said revenue growth was driven by continued good momentum in retail and food businesses.
Adjusted operating profit was up 39% at £951m.
Revenue from the retail segment pushed up 7.5% to £4.5bn, while revenue from the grocery arm grew 5% to £2.1bn.
Looking ahead, AB Foods said it was on track to deliver "significant" growth in both profitability and cash generation ahead of expectations at the start of this financial year.
JD Sports Fashion was also a high riser after announcing the acquisition of US sports fashion retailer Hibbett for $1.08bn (£878m).
Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Nasdaq-listed Hibbett has 1,169 stores in 36 states across the US trading under the Hibbett and City Gear fascias. JD Sports said it would pay $87.50 a share in cash for Hibbett stock.
On the downside, miners slumped, with Anglo American, Antofagasta, Glencore and Rio Tinto all down.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,750.00p 9.74%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 376.40p 5.02%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 123.20p 4.01%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 15,085.00p 2.38%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 685.00p 2.03%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 285.30p 2.00%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 8,028.00p 1.90%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 261.20p 1.79%
WPP (WPP) 802.80p 1.72%
Next (NXT) 9,204.00p 1.63%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Anglo American (AAL) 2,078.50p -3.77%
Fresnillo (FRES) 569.50p -2.98%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,139.00p -2.82%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 347.60p -2.03%
Glencore (GLEN) 465.75p -1.93%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,289.00p -1.80%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,503.50p -1.51%
BT Group (BT.A) 106.80p -1.25%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,516.00p -0.96%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,305.00p -0.95%