Source: Sharecast
St James’s Place jumped to the top of the index as JPMorgan reiterated its ‘strong conviction’ on the overweight-rated stock and lifted the price target to 1,310p from 1,205p.
"St. James’s Place remains a top conviction within our coverage universe," it said.
The bank said it was updating its St. James’s Place model, incorporating the reported Q1 assets under management, while also reflecting in its estimates the good market performance of recent weeks.
"As a result, we increase our 2025-27 underlying cash earnings per share estimates by 8-12%, primarily thanks to a circa 6% increase in our funds under management assumptions," it said.
"The higher FUM leads to a 4%-6% increase in net income, which is then amplified at the EPS level by operating margins as we make no changes to our cost estimates," said JPM, which lifted its price target accordingly.
It said that impressive strength in net flows recorded over past 12 months demonstrate to the bank that St. James’s Place is well on track to continue to grow and capture market share in the UK wealth management market.
GSK, Shell and BP were among the gainers. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "AstraZeneca, Shell and GSK were the biggest contributors to the FTSE 100 in terms of index points, suggesting that investors were fishing for opportunities among areas that have recently been weak.
"Pharma stocks have been volatile of late amid fears of tariffs on the sector, while a pullback in oil prices dragged down the big oil producers yesterday."
Fresnillo lost its shine after announcing the sale of the majority of its stake in MAG Silver following Pan American Silver’s agreement to acquire MAG. It said the resulting reduced shareholding in Pan American would no longer align with its strategic investment objectives.
FTSE 100 - Risers
St James's Place (STJ) 1,102.00p 2.89%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 93.08p 1.99%
F&C Investment Trust (FCIT) 1,107.00p 1.65%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 326.10p 1.56%
GSK (GSK) 1,383.00p 1.50%
Shell (SHEL) 2,509.00p 1.46%
BP (BP.) 373.35p 1.38%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,117.00p 1.30%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,778.00p 1.18%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,304.00p 1.16%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Anglo American (AAL) 2,090.50p -2.45%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 464.60p -2.31%
Fresnillo (FRES) 994.00p -2.17%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,054.00p -1.44%
Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 3,473.00p -1.36%
3i Group (III) 3,966.00p -1.34%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 352.30p -1.32%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,134.00p -1.31%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,834.50p -1.16%
Kingfisher (KGF) 312.70p -1.08%