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FTSE 100 movers: Burberry out of fashion; Rolls-Royce motors on
London stocks were still in the red by midday on Wednesday, weighed down by disappointing updates from the likes of Burberry and Pearson, while Informa tumbled on news of a merger with UBM.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.2% to 7,740.42, while the pound was up 0.4% against the euro at 1.1291 and flat versus the dollar at 1.3792.
M&A was in focus as Informa, the events and specialist publishing group, agreed a merger with its smaller events-focused rival UBM in a deal that is expected to create a £9bn heavyweight and generate "significant synergies".
In a proposed deal that will need to be formalised in coming weeks, Informa would offer 1.083 of its shares and 163p per UBM share, to own roughly 65.5% of the enlarged group. UBM surged but Informa shares plummeted on the news.
Trading updates did little to brighten the mood, with luxury clothes retailer Burberry under the cosh as it reported slower sales growth in the last three months of 2017 than had been expected but remained confident of sashaying on to hit full year profit targets as it makes initial progress on its new strategy.
Education publisher Pearson retreated after saying it expects 2017 adjusted operating profit of around £570m to £570m and adjusted earnings per share of 53.5p to 54.5p at effective exchange rates, as lower US educational sales still drag on the company.
On the positive side, Rolls-Royce shares were up as it said it may sell off its commercial marine business as part of a new restructuring that will see the group run in three operating divisions.
The FTSE 100 engine maker said it was evaluating "strategic options" for the commercial marine unit and a reduction to three core units based around civil aerospace, defence and power systems.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,727.41 -0.37%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,776.15 -0.48%
techMARK (TASX) 3,525.70 -0.59%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 902.00p 5.67%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 619.80p 3.27%
NMC Health (NMC) 3,156.00p 1.74%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,365.00p 1.24%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,007.40p 1.07%
Halma (HLMA) 1,302.00p 1.01%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,030.00p 1.00%
SSE (SSE) 1,345.00p 0.90%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,366.20p 0.83%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 372.10p 0.81%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,640.50p -8.10%
Informa (INF) 700.80p -6.23%
Pearson (PSON) 683.40p -4.87%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 2,157.00p -3.32%
Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,209.00p -2.76%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,494.00p -2.27%
ITV (ITV) 165.38p -2.20%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,865.00p -2.05%
WPP (WPP) 1,353.00p -2.03%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,078.50p -1.76%