FTSE 100 movers: Going overboard on Man

1st Mar 2012 12:29

Investors were going overboard on Man Group following the announcement of a more generous dividend policy and a slow-down in the net outflow of funds at the hedge fund manager. The group said funds under management (FUM) at the end of February clocked in at around $59.5bn, up from the end of 2011 figure of $58.4bn, on the back of good investment performance and a significant reduction in the rate of net outflows.Advertising giant WPP was also a high riser after reporting champion revenues and profits as its gears up for Olympic year. Revenues at the Dublin head-quartered company came in at £10bn, ahead of analysts' predictions of £9.9bn. Profits before tax came in at £1.4bn, against a market consensus of £1.1bn, and 17% ahead of 2010 on a constant currency basis. Biopharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca climbed after announcing a board room shake up. Its Chairman of eight years, Louis Schweitzer, intends to retire at the start of September. He will be replaced, assuming shareholders agree, by Leif Johansson, Chairman of Swedish telecommunications titan LM Ericsson. Leading the fallers was engineering group Weir as a result of its ongoing issues in the takeover of Australian mining equipment maker Ludowici. Weir is nervously awaiting the outcome of the Review Panel of the Australian Takeovers Panel regarding the bid battle for Ludowici and has reminded the firm's shareholders that its offer will remain open for acceptance until six hours past the publication of the Panel's verdict. Mining giant Kazakhmys also dropped lower despite saying that 2011 revenues rose to $3,563m, from $3,237m the year before, while earnings nudged slightly higher. The group said that output of copper in 2012 should be similar to the level produced in 2011. FTSE 100 - RisersMan Group (EMG) 140.00p +6.95%Essar Energy (ESSR) 110.80p +5.62%WPP (WPP) 842.00p +4.79%ITV (ITV) 88.25p +2.68%Schroders (Non-Voting) (SDRC) 1,258.00p +2.61%Barclays (BARC) 251.15p +2.51%Schroders (SDR) 1,581.00p +2.26%Carnival (CCL) 1,888.00p +2.16%ICAP (IAP) 392.90p +2.10%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 437.00p +2.03%FTSE 100 - FallersWeir Group (WEIR) 2,072.00p -1.61%Cairn Energy (CNE) 339.70p -1.31%Reed Elsevier (REL) 544.50p -1.09%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,098.00p -0.99%Whitbread (WTB) 1,684.00p -0.77%Evraz (EVR) 420.50p -0.76%Capita (CPI) 763.50p -0.46%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,569.00p -0.42%Glencore International (GLEN) 430.25p -0.41%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) 163.60p -0.37%NR