Source: Sharecast
Flutter Entertainment was the top gainer on the index after Wedbush initiated coverage of the stock at ‘outperform’, arguing that recent share losses are cyclical and should reverse.
Wedbush said the current valuation does not adequately factor in upside opportunity from the company’s prediction market offering or the likelihood of a second-half rebound in relative US performance. "At current valuation levels, we believe execution on just one of these points will be enough to drive shares higher over the coming months," it said.
Engine maker Rolls-Royce was among the best performers, closely followed by defence firms BAE Systems and Babcock. BAE was in focus after securing a $535m contract with the US Army.
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust - which has a significant holding in SpaceX - was also on the front foot.
AB Foods fell despite the Competition and Markets Authority clearing its £75m acquisition of Hovis.
The competition watchdog found that if the merger did not go ahead, the most likely outcome would be that AB Foods would exit the market entirely in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. "This means the competitive pressure from AB would be lost, with or without the merger, and therefore the inquiry group has found that the merger does not raise competition concerns," it said.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 8,324.00p 4.61%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,403.20p 3.65%
Entain (ENT) 605.40p 3.09%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 210.40p 2.94%
Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,488.50p 2.41%
Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 256.80p 2.27%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,856.50p 2.22%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,052.50p 2.03%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 1,411.60p 2.01%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 625.60p 1.92%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
BT Group (BT.A) 198.20p -1.98%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,890.50p -1.87%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 373.70p -1.37%
Pearson (PSON) 1,127.00p -1.23%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 308.50p -0.93%
The Sage Group (SGE) 820.40p -0.92%
Haleon (HLN) 332.00p -0.75%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 446.30p -0.73%
Kingfisher (KGF) 283.60p -0.67%
BP (BP.) 512.80p -0.54%