FTSE 100 movers: Hammerson rises on strategy rethink

24th Feb 2012 13:18

Property firm Hammerson caught the market on the hop with its decision to sell off all its office developments to focus on its retail assets, but with the employment situation looking bleak investors were quick to applaud the decision.The news sent the stock into the top spot despite a slump in pre-tax profits to £346.3m in 2011 from £620.2m in 2010, as investors bought into management's change of strategy. ITV was also on the up ahead of its full-year results due next Wednesday. Credit Suisse gave an outperform rating on the stock today, saying that the company's turnaround plan is starting to bear fruit. Meanwhile, Lloyds Banking Group fell after saying that it expects the external environment to remain challenging this year and has had to delay its return on equity and income-related targets beyond 2014. The lender also reported a pre-tax loss of £3,542m in 2011, compared with a profit of £281m the year before, dragged down by substantial charges in relation to Payment Protect Insurance (PPI).Unilever dropped into the bottom spot after market peer Procter & Gamble revealed its plans to slash costs by $10m over the next four years, sparking fears among investors that the savings would be put towards promotional campaigns in a bid to become an even bigger rival to Unilever, which had been playing catch-up to P&G, the largest consumer goods firm in the world. Sector peer Reckitt Benckiser was also on the fall after Goldman Sachs downgraded the consumer products group from buy to neutral. FTSE 100 - RisersHammerson (HMSO) 399.20p +3.50%Man Group (EMG) 133.20p +3.26%ITV (ITV) 80.25p +3.15%Capita (CPI) 740.50p +3.13%Essar Energy (ESSR) 124.70p +2.55%Amec (AMEC) 1,115.00p +2.48%Barclays (BARC) 246.95p +2.47%GKN (GKN) 233.90p +2.45%British Land Co (BLND) 482.80p +2.44%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,469.00p +2.37%FTSE 100 - FallersUnilever (ULVR) 2,034.00p -2.68%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,433.00p -1.91%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 7,375.00p -1.67%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,322.00p -1.64%Carnival (CCL) 1,875.00p -1.16%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 36.17p -1.11%Ashmore Group (ASHM) 397.00p -1.05%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 28.42p -1.04%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,428.00p -0.97%SSE (SSE) 1,276.00p -0.85%NR