Source: Sharecast
Airtel Africa shot to the top of the index after it posted a sharp jump in half-year core earnings on the back of surging revenues and an increase in customer numbers.
HSBC was also higher as it reported a fall in third-quarter profits as a $1.1bn legal charge weighed on the bottom line, but lifted its guidance for 2025 net interest income to $43bn "or better", from $42bn.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Having got the bad news out of the way early, with yesterday’s revelation of a provision linked to Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, HSBC had some good news to deliver to investors with its third-quarter update.
"While the Madoff-linked hit saw profit come in below expectations at a headline level, on an underlying basis the business is performing well and, crucially, somewhat better than the market was expecting.
"A key metric for any bank is net interest income - the difference between what the bank pays out to savers and receives from borrowers in interest - so the boost to guidance here and double-digit quarterly growth are significant."
Spirax was boosted by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at UBS.
On the downside, BT fell following a report it is considering the launch of new a low-cost mobile brand to compete with new rivals in the market including Revolut and Monzo.
According to the Financial Times, BT is considering options to enter the budget market, which could involve creating a new brand in-house or buying an existing virtual network operator.
Housebuilders Barratt Redrow and Berkeley lost ground amid reports that chancellor Rachel Reeves could announce a 1% annual levy on homes worth more than £2m in the upcoming Budget.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Airtel Africa (AAF) 262.20p 13.70%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 1,048.80p 4.46%
Spirax Group (SPX) 7,180.00p 2.28%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,143.50p 2.10%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,891.00p 2.08%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,244.00p 1.88%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,497.00p 1.80%
Glencore (GLEN) 353.40p 1.68%
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 6,960.00p 1.61%
Informa (INF) 970.40p 1.55%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 401.40p -1.69%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 340.80p -1.67%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 397.20p -1.61%
BT Group (BT.A) 183.80p -1.58%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,306.50p -1.43%
easyJet (EZJ) 479.40p -1.36%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,098.00p -1.30%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,066.00p -1.26%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 18,090.00p -1.23%
LondonMetric Property (LMP) 191.80p -1.13%