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FTSE 100 movers: Mondi on a high as Sage Group sinks
The FTSE 100 had its head just above water on Friday afternoon, as investors kept an eye on the geopolitical situation, with the latest Chinese trade data in focus and US bank earnings eyed.
London Stock Exchange Group was on the right side of its own index, edging higher after it appointed Goldman Sachs veteran David Schwimmer as its new chief executive.
Packaging and paper company Mondi was one of the top movers, after saying it was considering its options to expand the Stambolijski mill in Bulgaria.
According to various reports, the packaging and paper group is evaluating potential investments at its cost-efficient Bulgarian mill, although according to the company no decision had yet been taken.
Earlier, its shares had jumped by 4% after S&P Global Ratings upgraded its rating for the company's long-term debt from BBB to BBB+ with a 'stable' outlook.
Software group Micro Focus was continuing its rebound, which began on Thursday after reports it had attracted the attention of US hedge fund Elliott.
Shares in the group recently nosedived after the company downgraded its profits guidance less than six months after completing the reverse takeover of HP Enterprise's software arm, including some part of the former Autonomy.
Bloomberg reported on Thursday that activist Elliott had bought a stake in Micro Focus.
On the downside, Sage Group tumbled after it cut its full-year guidance to reflect "inconsistent operational execution".
In an update for the six months to the end of March 2018, the software company said it now expects around 7% organic revenue growth for FY18, down from previous guidance of 8%. Guidance for the organic operating margin was unchanged at 27.5%.
Rolls-Royce was also under pressure, after updating the market on its ongoing Trent 1000 engine in-service issues.
It had already outlined its management of the problems and the estimated costs relating to implementing its solutions in its full-year results in early March.
On Friday it said that, as part of its ongoing inspection and testing of those engines, it had decided to carry out additional engine inspections to those previously planned.
It added that the increased inspection frequency was driven by its further understanding of the durability of the Trent 1000 Package C compressor - a condition that was highlighted earlier in the year.
Royal Mail was in the red after it was downgraded to 'underperform' at RBC Capital Markets.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,259.55 0.02%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,837.96 0.33%
techMARK (TASX) 3,367.94 -0.19%
FTSE 100 - Risers
GKN (GKN) 452.40p 2.96%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,916.00p 2.81%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,287.00p 2.26%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 501.00p 2.14%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,945.00p 1.99%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 590.80p 1.72%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 277.70p 1.65%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,782.00p 1.58%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,286.00p 1.54%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 2,998.00p 1.49%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Sage Group (SGE) 612.20p -8.90%
easyJet (EZJ) 1,614.50p -2.80%
Royal Mail (RMG) 558.20p -2.21%
Shire Plc (SHP) 3,620.00p -1.78%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 868.40p -1.45%
Barclays (BARC) 213.30p -1.25%
Old Mutual (OML) 235.30p -1.05%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 939.40p -1.03%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,131.73p -1.01%
G4S (GFS) 251.20p -0.87%