FTSE 100 movers: Imperial Tobacco rises on Reynolds-Lorillard talks

11th Jul 2014 15:25

Shares in Imperial Tobacco rose strongly after the company confirmed it is discussions with US rivals Reynolds American and Lorillard about the potential acquisition of some of their assets and brands. It is thought that Reynolds and Lorillard, the second- and third-largest cigarette makers in the States respectively, are looking to sell assets in a bid to win over competition authorities ahead of their rumoured merger.The potential deal also gave UK-listed peer British American Tobacco (BAT) a boost today, given that it owns a 42% stake in Reynolds. There had been speculation earlier in the week that BAT could move to buy up the rest of Reynolds after a standstill agreement expires at the end of the month.Car insurance group Admiral was making gains as the stock continued to pull back after a heavy faller earlier in the week. The company said that revenues in the first half were lower than last year because of a decline in premiums as it gave a gloomy outlook.Heading the other way were the miners with Randgold and Fresnillo trading in the red. Supermaket peers Tesco and Morrisons were also lower.Bottling firm Coca-Cola HBC was a high riser after analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded their rating on the stock to 'buy'. FTSE 100 - RisersImperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 2,733.00p +2.78%Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,348.00p +2.74%ITV (ITV) 177.40p +2.13%Friends Life Group Limited (FLG) 325.10p +1.53%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,541.00p +1.38%Experian (EXPN) 1,015.00p +1.20%Next (NXT) 6,525.00p +1.08%Mondi (MNDI) 1,020.00p +0.99%Shire Plc (SHP) 4,642.00p +0.91%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,530.00p +0.90%FTSE 100 - FallersRandgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,125.00p -2.10%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,653.00p -1.70%Fresnillo (FRES) 931.00p -1.48%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 2,972.00p -1.23%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 171.70p -1.21%Tesco (TSCO) 277.50p -1.14%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,116.00p -1.06%Persimmon (PSN) 1,241.00p -1.04%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 72.38p -1.00%BG Group (BG.) 1,187.00p -1.00%BC