FTSE 100 movers: Compass boosted by upgrade; Airtel Africa tumbles

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 8,268.28 in afternoon trade on Wednesday. Caterer Compass Group was boosted by an upgrade to 'outperform' by BNP Paribas Exane.

Airtel Africa tumbled, however, after a downgrade to 'neutral' by JPMorgan Cazenove.

Barratt Developments fell as the housebuilder reported a sharp fall in annual profit, citing cost-of-living pressures, higher mortgage rates and limited consumer confidence. The company said pre-tax profit slumped to £170.5m from £705m, with completions down 18.6% to 14,000.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Despite all the talk that the UK property market has shown resilience in the face of high borrowing costs, the backdrop has not created a rich environment for Barratt Developments to prosper.

"A slump in annual profits is the result of lower home completions, weaker average selling prices and reduced margins.

"It's a waiting game for Barratt's shareholders. They can see the benefits of a new government with pro-housing policies. Furthermore, the recent acquisition of Redrow should help the enlarged housebuilding group to tackle cost pressures head on, as it will have greater buying power for materials and operational cost synergies as the two groups come together.

"However, interest rates are still relatively high and the Bank of England isn't expected to slash rates dramatically over the rest of the year, meaning mortgage affordability remains a challenge for many.

"Barratt really needs Number 10 to get its skates on and push through planning reforms so it can get more creative in where to build new homes. Until that happens, and until interest rates come down further, the business doesn't have a lot of levers to pull to dramatically improve earnings."

British Gas owner Centrica was also in the red after a downgrade to 'hold' at HSBC.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 478.40p 1.29% RELX FINANCE BV 3.375% GTD NTS 20/03/33 (BW73) 99.72p 1.10% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 345.50p 1.05% Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,214.00p 0.96% British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,894.00p 0.94% Compass Group (CPG) 2,426.00p 0.87% Melrose Industries (MRO) 468.50p 0.82% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 186.05p 0.68% Vodafone Group (VOD) 76.10p 0.58% NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 335.50p 0.54%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Airtel Africa (AAF) 110.30p -4.91% Convatec Group (CTEC) 228.20p -3.96% Burberry Group (BRBY) 628.60p -3.71% Barratt Developments (BDEV) 502.00p -3.46% Entain (ENT) 612.40p -3.44% Sage Group (SGE) 980.60p -3.25% Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,248.00p -2.99% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,558.00p -2.89% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 15,865.00p -2.85% Centrica (CNA) 122.60p -2.66%