London Report: Petrofac buoys FTSE but poor store data weighs on market
BRITAIN’S top equity index yesterday climbed to its highest closing level in nearly two months, with oil and gas services company Petrofac buoyed by positive broker comments. However, supermarkets J Sainsbury and Tesco underperformed after weak sales data.
The FTSE 100 index ended up 0.1 per cent, or 7.90 points, at 6,830.66 points.
Petrofac rose 2.3 per cent to 1,149p, making it the best-performing FTSE 100 stock in percentage terms.
Brokerage Investec kept a “buy” rating on the stock, while S&P Capital IQ raised its rating on Petrofac to “strong buy” from “buy”, a day after Petrofac reassured investors by sticking to its full-year earnings forecast despite suffering a fall in first-half profits.
However, Sainsbury fell 2.6 per cent to 304.20p, while rival Tesco retreated 1.1 percent to 249.30p, after data from Kantar Worldpanel showed yet more weak sales for the UK’s top supermarket retailer.
Mid-cap estate agents Foxtons fell 10.3 per cent to 269.40p after saying that stringent mortgage rules were slowing demand for London property.