FTSE 100 movers: Defensives on the rise; Burberry out of fashion

17th Jul 2026 14:37

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was flat at 10,574.09 in afternoon trade on Friday.

Defensives were on the rise, with utilities Severn Trent, National Grid, United Utilities and SSE all higher, along with tobacco stocks British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands.

Shell was also a high riser amid firmer oil prices.

On the downside, Burberry slumped despite reporting a 5% rise in first-quarter sales driven by strong performances in the Americas and China which offset a decline in Europe and the Middle East due to the Iran war.

Sales in the 13 weeks to 27 June came in at £455m. Burberry said it expected to deliver full-year revenue growth and margin expansion but was still "mindful of the uncertain geopolitical and macro-economic environment and its potential impact on consumer confidence".

Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said the drop in the shares "is further proof that there are those who remain unconvinced of a turnaround".

"Even so, if momentum is maintained as evidenced by the last few trading updates, there will be increasing upward pressure on a market consensus which currently stands at a hold, albeit a strong one," he added.

GSK also fell after the pharma company announced it was stopping the development of a refractory chronic cough drug after unsuccessful results from a late-stage clinical trial.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Severn Trent (SVT) 3,078.00p 3.29%

British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,648.00p 3.23%

National Grid (NG.) 1,252.50p 2.92%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,878.00p 2.78%

BT Group (BT.A) 198.40p 2.64%

Shell (SHEL) 3,237.50p 2.61%

United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,385.00p 2.52%

Vodafone Group (VOD) 118.80p 2.32%

SSE (SSE) 2,482.00p 2.22%

BAE Systems (BA.) 1,867.00p 1.96%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,038.00p -7.27%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,369.00p -5.91%

Scottish Mortgage Inv Trust (SMT) 1,354.00p -4.08%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,340.00p -3.93%

Autotrader Group (AUTO) 499.40p -3.10%

Barclays (BARC) 507.20p -3.09%

GSK (GSK) 1,892.00p -2.91%

Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 109.35p -2.62%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,069.00p -2.54%

Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 11,150.00p -2.53%