Source: Sharecast
M&G rallied after UBS upgraded the shares to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’. It said M&G is a good asset management business and the valuation screens as cheap relative to other asset managers.
Advertising agency WPP slumped as it announced that chief executive officer Mark Read will retire on 31 December after more than 30 years with the company, including seven as CEO.
It said Read has decided that "the time is right for him to hand over to a new leader" and that the search for a successor is underway.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell , said: "The fact WPP’s share price had more than halved over the past three years meant Mark Read’s days were always numbered as CEO. Shareholders can be patient, but there reaches a point where they can wait no longer and something has to change in order to revive the share price.
"The share price falling further on Read’s departure news is a sign that investors are all too aware of the problems at hand. This isn’t a simple situation where all that’s needed is fresh thinking from a leadership perspective. WPP needs a complete overhaul and that won’t come easily or quickly.
"The fact the company hasn’t got a replacement CEO lined up would suggest chaos behind closed doors. It could take another three to six months to find someone else, and by that point, WPP’s more tech-savvy rivals could be even further ahead."
Elsewhere, Aviva was in the red after a downgrade to ‘market perform’ at KBW.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 19,015.00p 3.15%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 82.30p 2.16%
Diageo (DGE) 1,973.00p 2.07%
M&G (MNG) 248.60p 1.97%
Spirax Group (SPX) 5,860.00p 1.91%
Croda International (CRDA) 3,066.00p 1.25%
3i Group (III) 4,316.00p 1.20%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,300.00p 1.14%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,357.00p 1.12%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 4,325.00p 1.03%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
WPP (WPP) 547.80p -1.97%
St James's Place (STJ) 1,114.50p -1.81%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,328.00p -1.70%
Aviva (AV.) 618.40p -1.34%
Haleon (HLN) 400.00p -1.28%
Tesco (TSCO) 385.90p -1.20%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,045.00p -1.14%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 2,104.00p -1.13%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,112.50p -1.07%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,194.00p -1.04%