FTSE 100 movers: Land Securities boosted by upgrade; Centrica in the red

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 8,189.25 in afternoon trade on Monday. Land Securities was boosted by an upgrade to 'buy' at HSBC.

Centrica was on the rise after Berenberg upgraded shares of the British Gas owner to 'buy' from 'hold' and lifted the price target to 155p from 130p.

The bank said Centrica's strong balance sheet, with nearly £3bn of net cash, continues to afford it optionality, which leads it to a more constructive view of the investment case.

Berenberg said the upgrade was supported by its expectation that the group will use £1bn of its cash to extend its share buyback programme.

Anglo American was under the cosh after the mining giant said it had been forced to suspend production at its Grosvenor steelmaking coal mine in Queensland after an underground coal gas ignition incident at the weekend.

No injuries were reported and all workers were evacuated safely. Grosvenor is expected to contribute 3.5m tonnes of steelmaking coal to Anglo's 15-17m total in 2024 - though the company said it will update the market with guidance "once more information is available".

FTSE 100 - Risers

Glencore (GLEN) 463.80p 2.82% Phoenix Group Holdings (PHNX) 536.00p 2.78% Standard Chartered (STAN) 734.80p 2.63% Land Securities Group (LAND) 635.50p 2.58% Centrica (CNA) 138.25p 2.48% Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 56.06p 2.41% Persimmon (PSN) 1,381.00p 2.14% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 3,604.00p 2.10% Barclays (BARC) 213.15p 2.03% BT Group (BT.A) 143.10p 1.96%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

BAE Systems (BA.) 1,280.50p -2.99% Beazley (BEZ) 691.50p -2.33% Anglo American (AAL) 2,462.00p -1.60% 3i Group (III) 3,017.00p -1.60% Burberry Group (BRBY) 864.40p -1.53% Relx plc (REL) 3,587.00p -1.43% Sage Group (SGE) 1,078.00p -0.96% easyJet (EZJ) 453.30p -0.96% Admiral Group (ADM) 2,591.00p -0.92% Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,877.00p -0.74%