FTSE 100 movers: Banks lead the race

25th Feb 2013 14:36

Royal Bank of Scotland topped the FTSE 100 on Monday following reports it was poised to announce a plan to float part of its US business. It comes as the state-backed lender looks for ways to raise capital and restructure ahead of planned reprivatisation.Barclays followed closely behind as minority shareholders of South Africa's Absa Group reportedly backed a plan to buy the bank's African operations for $2.1bn. The two banks would merge the bulk of their African businesses outside of South Africa, with Barclays relinquishing direct control of eight of its operations on the continent in exchange for 129.5m new shares in Absa. Pearson plunged after the global education group announced gross restructuring costs of £200m over the next two years alongside its 2012 annual results which saw pre-tax profits fall 59% to £434m. Reckitt Benckiser Group fell following news the pharmaceuticals company faced new competition after the US Food and Drugs Administration approved two generic variants of its Suboxone heroin-dependency drug.FTSE 100 - RisersRoyal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 356.70p +3.39%Barclays (BARC) 316.15p +2.98%Anglo American (AAL) 1,998.00p +2.88%CRH (CRH) 1,430.00p +2.58%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,111.00p +2.49%Polymetal International (POLY) 1,005.00p +2.29%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 693.00p +2.21%BP (BP.) 453.50p +2.13%Evraz (EVR) 275.20p +1.89%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,132.50p +1.84%FTSE 100 - FallersPearson (PSON) 1,137.00p -6.50%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 4,353.00p -3.61%Whitbread (WTB) 2,554.00p -2.96%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 369.10p -2.25%Aggreko (AGK) 1,685.00p -1.98%Intu Properties (INTU) 348.80p -1.83%British Land Co (BLND) 568.50p -1.81%Croda International (CRDA) 2,546.00p -1.70%BT Group (BT.A) 272.50p -1.66%Reed Elsevier (REL) 694.50p -1.42%BC