FTSE 100 movers: IMI jumps on appointment of new CEO

27th Sep 2013 14:49

Engineering group IMI rose into the top spot after hiring former Weir boss Mark Selway as its new Chief Executive. He will take the reins from company veteran Martin Lamb who will step down at the end of this year after nearly 13 years at the helm. Utility peers SSE and Centrica were also high risers, rebounding after some sharp falls earlier in the week following Ed Miliband's proposals to freeze energy bills if Labour is voted into power in 2015. Centrica has specifically attacked the plans, saying that it would not be "economically viable" to operate if prices were controlled against a background of rising costs.Building products firm Travis Perkins climbed after being lifted from 'neutral' to 'buy' by Goldman Sachs. Distribution group Bunzl also received an upgrade from the US bank from 'sell' to 'neutral' today.Babcock, the engineering support services firm, was also gaining after saying that trading in the first half ending September 30th has "remained positive". The company said it "will continue to make further strong progress and that results for the 2013/14 financial year will be in line with its expectations".Meanwhile, Persimmon was leading the downside after announcing plans to halt building work in some parts of the south Wales valleys as it generates insufficient profit for the house builder. Randgold Resources was a heavy faller after Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its gold-price forecast by 17% to $1,294 an ounce for 2014. Nevertheless, the bank said Randgold remains amount its preferred 'buys' in the sector due to low costs, a rising grade profile and strong balance sheet. TheStreet Ratings, however, cut its rating for the stock from 'buy' to 'hold'.Other miners, including Antofagasta, Vedanta Resources, Rio Tinto, Anglo American and BHP Billiton, were also providing a drag on markets today. Rio was shrugging off some upbeat comments from Nomura which labelled it as "one of the cheapest stocks" within its peer group.FTSE 100 - RisersIMI (IMI) 1,470.00p +1.17%Aggreko (AGK) 1,606.00p +1.01%SSE (SSE) 1,473.00p +0.89%GKN (GKN) 352.30p +0.89%Sports Direct International (SPD) 705.50p +0.71%Centrica (CNA) 369.00p +0.57%G4S (GFS) 254.20p +0.32%BT Group (BT.A) 344.20p +0.32%Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,655.00p +0.30%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,621.00p +0.25%FTSE 100 - FallersPersimmon (PSN) 1,059.00p -4.51%Antofagasta (ANTO) 826.50p -3.16%Anglo American (AAL) 1,522.00p -3.03%SABMiller (SAB) 3,156.00p -2.40%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,067.50p -2.32%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,078.00p -2.27%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,843.00p -2.12%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 739.50p -2.05%Mondi (MNDI) 1,045.00p -1.97%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,041.00p -1.89%NR