FTSE 100 movers: Spirax stands out; Convatec gives back some gains

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 8,069.27 in afternoon trade on Thursday. Spirax was the standout gainer on the index as it left its full-year outlook unchanged after increasing organic sales across all three of its businesses in the third quarter, but warned of a slight impact on results from currency movements.

3i Group also pushed higher as it highlighted a "good" financial performance in the first half, with a total return of £2.05bn, or 10% on opening shareholders' funds.

B&M European Value Retail gained as it reiterated its full-year outlook after half-year sales ticked higher.

United Utilities rose as it said revenues topped the £1bn mark in its first half after a "robust" performance, though headline profits dropped due to a higher net finance expense.

Aviva advanced as it hailed a "very strong" performance in the third quarter, with double-digit gains in general insurance premiums, life insurance and retirement sales, and wealth net flows.

On the downside, Convatec was the worst performer on the index, having surged earlier in the week after raising its guidance for 2024 following robust sales growth across its divisions.

Sainsbury's lost ground as it traded without entitlement to the dividend.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Spirax Group (SPX) 6,680.00p 4.87% 3i Group (III) 3,480.00p 4.50% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 396.70p 4.45% United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,090.50p 4.01% Aviva (AV.) 472.70p 3.96% Informa (INF) 853.00p 3.14% Severn Trent (SVT) 2,649.00p 2.52% BP (BP.) 378.85p 2.38% Prudential (PRU) 623.00p 2.23% Centrica (CNA) 120.95p 2.07%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Convatec Group (CTEC) 247.20p -3.59% Fresnillo (FRES) 622.00p -1.82% Weir Group (WEIR) 2,124.00p -1.76% Experian (EXPN) 3,699.00p -1.75% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 239.00p -1.73% Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 2,046.00p -1.54% DCC (CDI) (DCC) 5,395.00p -1.10% Smith (DS) (SMDS) 556.50p -1.07% Next (NXT) 9,588.00p -0.89% Kingfisher (KGF) 285.30p -0.73%