FTSE 100 movers: Mondi slumps after update, BAT boosted by upgrade

24th Apr 2026 14:11

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was down 0.6% at 10,390.30 in afternoon trade on Friday.

Mondi slumped as the paper and packaging group said it was raising prices and cutting jobs in response to increased volatility caused by the US-Israel war on Iran and Lebanon. It also reported a sharp fall in first-quarter underlying earnings as market conditions remained "challenging".

JD Sports Fashion fell following a report that Andy Higginson quit as chair this week after pushing for chief executive Régis Schultz to be ousted and failing to win unanimous backing for the move from the retailer's board.

According to the Financial Times, citing four people familiar with the matter, Higginson argued that Schultz should be replaced after a three-and-a-half-year tenure in which the sportswear business has reported slowing sales and struggled in its key North American market.

On the upside, British American Tobacco was the standout gainer after a double-upgrade to 'overweight' at Morgan Stanley, which said it was its top pick in European tobacco.

The bank hiked its price target on BAT to 4,900p from 3,050p.

Morgan Stanley said that despite structural declines in combustibles, it is overall constructive on tobacco within EU Staples due to the defensiveness of the category, lower earnings dispersion, superior cash generation and an undemanding valuation.

It cut its stance on Imperial Brands to 'equalweight' and trimmed the price target to 3,050p from 3,200p.

FTSE 100 - Risers

British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,360.00p 3.34%

BT Group (BT.A) 224.50p 1.77%

Unilever (ULVR) 4,315.50p 1.73%

Tesco (TSCO) 494.85p 1.69%

Compass Group 11 (CPG) 30.33p 1.32%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 344.20p 1.21%

Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 34.56p 1.20%

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 144.50p 1.01%

DCC (CDI) (DCC) 5,225.00p 0.97%

BP (BP.) 575.70p 0.93%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Mondi (MNDI) 769.20p -8.67%

Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,149.00p -3.65%

AstraZeneca (AZN) 13,964.00p -3.46%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,684.00p -3.45%

Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,218.00p -3.05%

Convatec Group (CTEC) 218.60p -2.67%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,692.50p -2.28%

St James's Place (STJ) 1,263.00p -2.17%

JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 70.48p -2.05%

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,294.00p -1.96%