FTSE 100 movers: Banks keep Footsie up

15th Apr 2010 11:45

London's leading shares are just above flat as good gains from banks are being offset by weak defensives.Investors are keen on the likes of Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings but defensives are proving a drag. Reckitt Benckiser, Unilever are lower while G4S, Centrica and Thomas Cook are also amongst the top ten fallers.Credit checking firm Experian is the biggest slider though. It saw revenues from continuing operations rise for the six months to March but revenues at its UK operations fell in the period. At constant exchange rates, total revenue in UK and Ireland declined 2%. Organic revenue also declined 2%, though total growth at actual exchange rates rose 6%. Overall revenue for the group, from continuing activities, increased 3% at constant exchange ratesBT Group is posting strong gains after Morgan Stanley said the stock is substantially cheaper than its US peers. Broker comments have given Carnival a lift too. Morgan Stanley lifts Carnival's price target to 3,200 pence from 2,700 and keeps its "overweight" rating.WPP is a gainer on newspaper reports that chief executive Martin Sorrell is willing to bring the company back to the UK if a new government guarantees overseas profits will not be taxed. FTSE 100 - RisersBT Group (BT.A) 131.50p +1.86%Carnival (CCL) 2,683.00p +1.71%Barclays (BARC) 379.80p +1.69%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 703.30p +1.63%WPP Group (WPP) 715.50p +1.42%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,358.00p +1.34%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 45.51p +1.31%Rexam (REX) 305.20p +1.26%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,447.00p +1.19%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 691.00p +1.02%FTSE 100 - FallersExperian Group (EXPN) 614.50p -3.23%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,522.00p -1.48%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,191.50p -1.46%Diageo (DGE) 1,142.00p -1.30%Unilever (ULVR) 1,928.00p -1.28%G4S (GFS) 263.80p -1.20%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,259.50p -1.16%BAE Systems (BA.) 374.90p -1.13%Centrica (CNA) 298.00p -1.06%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 265.80p -1.01%