FTSE 100 movers: Man Group leads the recovery

22nd Jun 2011 15:33

Hedge fund manager Man Group is the high riser of the day, pulling the Footsie back into positive territory, after some kind words from Credit Suisse.Man is "moving in the right direction", according to the Swiss brokerage, who upgraded the firm from a 'neutral' to an 'outperform' rating. "Clearly the last month has seen weak returns across the hedge fund industry but we believe the improving relative performance at AHL [Man's quantitative managed futures manager] and signs of improved fund raising for Man group should underpin a return to growth for the group," said analysts Rupak Ghose and Gurjit Kambo. West Africa-focused miner Randgold Resources is also on the rise, tracking gold prices higher. Gold futures were 0.67% higher at $1,557 as of 15:45 on Wednesday afternoon.Meanwhile, water groups Severn Trent and United Utilities are on the decline, being the worst two performers on the blue chip index.Financials Barclays, Standard Chartered and HSBC are also unwanted.Pharmaceuticals behemoth AstraZeneca is firmer after announcing that it is to sell its dental and healthcare Astra Tech business to DENTSPLY for around $1.8bn in cash. Scottish engineer Weir is higher after extending its global reach with the acquisition of a majority interest in a South Korean valves business. Panmure Gordon raised its target price for the stock from 2,045p to 2,270p, saying that "Weir is well positioned to exploit this rapid rise in the pressure pumping equipment market." ---BCFTSE 100 - RisersMan Group (EMG) 243.40p +5.55%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,398.00p +3.13%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,917.00p +2.80%Kingfisher (KGF) 270.70p +2.48%WPP (WPP) 753.50p +1.41%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,072.00p +1.32%Centrica (CNA) 325.40p +1.18%BT Group (BT.A) 200.80p +1.11%Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,286.00p +1.10%Unilever (ULVR) 1,979.00p +1.07%FTSE 100 - FallersSevern Trent (SVT) 1,396.00p -3.26%United Utilities Group (UU.) 577.00p -3.11%Inmarsat (ISAT) 582.00p -2.27%Barclays (BARC) 253.10p -2.24%Capita Group (CPI) 726.00p -1.83%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,546.50p -1.81%Autonomy Corporation (AU.) 1,710.00p -1.78%Experian (EXPN) 764.00p -1.31%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,258.00p -1.26%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,526.00p -1.16%