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FTSE 100 movers: Centrica powers ahead; NatWest tumbles

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was flat at 7,071.05 in afternoon trade on Friday. British Gas owner Centrica rallied after saying it had reopened the Rough gas storage facility off the east coast of Yorkshire and was operating at about 20% of capacity, having completed engineering upgrades over the summer.

Airtel Africa was also a high riser, having tumbled on Thursday after its half-year pre-tax profit missed analysts' expectations.

NatWest slid after it reported flat third-quarter profit of £1.1bn amid a deteriorating outlook, which fell short of expectations of £1.2bn.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "NatWest has rounded off the banks' reporting season in mixed fashion, with some enforced financial writedowns blotting the overall copybook.

"The planned withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland through its Ulster Bank subsidiary has led to a charge on the mortgage book of some €420m. In addition, NatWest has succumbed to the necessity of making bad debt provisions in line with most of its peers. Whereas the group bucked the trend in the second quarter by releasing £18m of provisions, for this quarter a charge of £242m has been made.

"This leaves the cumulative figure for this year as a provision of £193m, which compares to a release of £904m in the corresponding period last year, and the £1bn swing has affected overall numbers."

Lloyds and Barclays also fell.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Centrica (CNA) 74.76p 7.38% Airtel Africa (AAF) 112.40p 4.27% GSK (GSK) 1,411.20p 1.74% AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,092.00p 1.42% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 5,662.00p 1.25% CRH (CDI) (CRH) 3,086.00p 1.16% Unilever (ULVR) 3,902.50p 0.97% SSE (SSE) 1,541.50p 0.88% Shell (SHEL) 2,443.50p 0.76% Vodafone Group (VOD) 99.33p 0.67%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 228.90p -7.59% Ocado Group (OCDO) 476.10p -3.86% Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,043.50p -3.82% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 115.40p -3.56% Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 41.34p -3.37% JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 98.24p -3.26% M&G (MNG) 174.00p -3.25% Barclays (BARC) 145.46p -3.19% SEGRO (SGRO) 782.80p -3.14% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 2,846.00p -3.07%

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Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

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