FTSE 100 Movers: Admiral dives more than 28%

9th Nov 2011 13:02

Shares in insurance firm Admiral tanked by more than 28% this morning after it warned 2011 profits would be at the lower end of expectations due to a jump in personal injury claims. In its third quarter statement the firm had said it expected to report record profits for the full year, around 10% higher than the previous year. Explorer Tullow Oil's share price followed suit after the firm released a bullish update for the third quarter, but said that slower than expected production in Ghana had forced it to cut targets again."Group production for 2011 is now expected to average 79-81,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) due to slower than expected ramp up from the Jubilee field," the firm said. Also falling, HSBC, the UK's biggest bank, has seen a massive drop in underlying pre-tax profits in the three months to the end of September. Likewise, acquisitive insurance group Resolution fell lower despite saying its Friends Life Group subsidiary has entered into a 'transformational' outsourcing arrangement with Diligenta that it says will save it pots of money. Meanwhile Sainsbury, the owner of Britain's number three supermarket chain, was rising up after seeing profits before tax rise to £354m in the first six months of this year, a 6.6% improvement on the same point last year and a touch above analysts expectations of around £350m. The total sales figure was also strong, at £12,848m for the half year, significantly better than Charles Stanley's prediction of £11,750m. Defensive stocks were in demand on Wednesday, as investors moved away from riskier assets. United Utilities, Vodafone, International Power and Smith & Nephew were among the few risers.Panmure Gordon cut its target on Smith & Nephew from 750p to 640p but retained its buy rating on the stock, keeping the share price in the top spot. Vodafone was also rising after Nomura increased its target on the stock from 215p to 220p. FTSE 100 - RisersSmith & Nephew (SN.) 550.50p +1.29%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 302.70p +0.80%United Utilities Group (UU.) 617.00p +0.41%Vodafone Group (VOD) 176.65p +0.37%International Power (IPR) 334.60p +0.27%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,390.00p +0.14%FTSE 100 - FallersAdmiral Group (ADM) 849.00p -28.83%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,347.00p -6.20%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 504.70p -6.10%Resolution Ltd. (RSL) 252.40p -5.96%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 21.17p -5.19%Barclays (BARC) 173.00p -4.95%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,130.00p -4.32%Capita Group (CPI) 666.50p -4.24%Kingfisher (KGF) 250.60p -4.06%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 27.75p -3.98%NR