FTSE 100 movers: Sainsbury's boosted by upgrade; Anglo American slumps

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.8% at 7,572.67 in afternoon trade on Friday. Sainsbury's was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' from 'neutral' at Goldman Sachs.

Anglo American was under the cosh after the miner said it aimed to cut operational costs by around $1bn by the end of 2024, reducing production by about 4% as near-term constraints and volatile market conditions continued to weigh on earnings.

Berkeley also slumped as the housebuilder said it has decided not to invest in any new developments due to the adverse planning and regulatory environment, and instead focus on "financial strength" following a rise in profits in the first half.

Pre-tax profit in the six months to 31 October increased by 4.6% to £298m, as operating margins held steady at 19.5%. However, the value of reservations dropped by a third due to the impact of elevated interest rates and ongoing "elevated political and macro volatility", the company said.

Imperial Brands was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'sector perform' from 'outperform' at RBC Capital Markets, which slashed its price target to 1,800p from 2,200p on the back of strong outperformance relative to British American Tobacco.

The bank said that strong outperformance leaves the valuation looking in line with the company's prospects. "Prospects which, given a very small and lacking NGP business, look increasingly dismal."

FTSE 100 - Risers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,511.50p 4.06% Ocado Group (OCDO) 635.00p 3.25% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 6,790.00p 3.03% Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,018.00p 2.72% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 297.90p 2.69% Airtel Africa (AAF) 115.60p 2.21% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,510.50p 1.99% Whitbread (WTB) 3,353.00p 1.88% Standard Chartered (STAN) 661.00p 1.69% Diageo (DGE) 2,808.00p 1.67%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 1,900.80p -14.55% Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,756.00p -3.72% Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,819.50p -1.99% Smith (DS) (SMDS) 299.00p -1.97% Mondi (MNDI) 1,462.00p -1.58% SEGRO (SGRO) 831.20p -1.26% Centrica (CNA) 148.10p -0.87% WPP (WPP) 714.40p -0.81% Land Securities Group (LAND) 642.40p -0.74% National Grid (NG.) 1,059.50p -0.61%