FTSE reshuffle day: Capita and Dixons Carphone replaced by Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Rentokil Initial
Capita and Dixons Carphone have dropped out of the FTSE 100 after its quarterly review of constituents.
They will be replaced by Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Rentokil Initial, FTSE Russell announced this evening.
However, Easyjet and Intu Properties escaped the chop, which will take effect after the close of business on Friday 17 March.
Read more: It's official: Easyjet and Dixons Carphone could be leaving the FTSE 100
Firms drop off the FTSE 100 if they are below 110th in market capitalisation at the time of review. While the change is mainly symbolic other than its effects for some tracker funds, it can leave bruised egos.
Outsourcing giant Capita saw its shares plummet by 28 per cent in one day in September after an unexpected slowdown shocked investors.
Meanwhile Dixons Carphone was on the receiving end of a huge Brexit sell-off, and it has failed to reassure investors since then that it can recover with consumer spending expected to slow considerably.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Dixons Carphone’s demotion from the blue chip index follows a rough period due to concerns over how Brexit will affect UK consumer confidence and the ongoing battle within the retail industry between bricks and clicks.”
Read more: FTSE 100 reshuffle: Dixons and EasyJet are in the relegation zone
Scottish Mortgage becomes the third investment trust to make the step up to the main index, after a year in which its share price has risen by around 40 per cent.
And services business Rentokil Initial – known particularly for its pest control units – has seen investors rushing for six consecutive dividend increases. It now returns for its fourth stint on London’s blue chip index.
Only 30 of the FTSE 100’s original members remain on the index, with 39 acquired by another firm, according to figures collected by AJ Bell. Another 10 have been broken up, while three have had the ignominy of going bankrupt since the index was started on 1 January 1984.