FTSE 100 movers: New chief lifts M&S

18th Nov 2009 14:56

Marks & Spencer is top dog this afternoon after it poached Mark Bolland to be its new chief executive from Wm Morrison. Morrisons, by contrast, has slumped on the news.Bolland joined Morrisons in September 2006, helping the Bradford-based supermarket recover from its problematic acquisition of Safeway. Previously, had worked for brewer Heineken executive."I am delighted that Marc is to be M&S's next chief executive. He brings a wealth of consumer marketing experience and has made a great success of his time at Morrisons," said Sir Stuart Rose, M&S's executvie chairman. He will step down from his post in mid-2011.Trading updates unsettled Capita and Wolseley. Outsourcer Capita slipped despite an upbeat trading statement. 'Trading across the group remains strong and we are confident we will deliver underlying profit growth for 2009 in line with market expectations. We are encouraged by prospects across the group, providing us with a strong platform for further growth in 2010 and beyond,' the company said. Wolseley, the plumbers' merchant, said underlying trading profit was down by more than a quarter in the three months to end-October from a year ago. Revenue during the period from continuing operations fell 13%, or 20% at constant exchange rates (CER), to £3.4bn. Burberry is going out of fashion at Nomura Securities, which has downgraded the stock to 'neutral' following the luxury fashion group's results earlier this week. Although impressed with Burberry's strong interim results and the group's long term growth prospects, the broker thinks the shares are now fairly valued. FTSE 100 - RisersMarks & Spencer Group (MKS) 391.60p +6.33%Fresnillo (FRES) 920.50p +4.96%Xstrata (XTA) 1,114.00p +3.63%Lonmin (LMI) 1,740.00p +3.39%Cobham (COB) 236.00p +2.61%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,627.00p +2.59%Vedanta Resources (VED) 2,452.00p +2.59%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 913.00p +2.58%FTSE 100 - FallersMorrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 282.00p -4.57%Capita Group (CPI) 726.50p -4.47%Cable & Wireless (CW.) 136.20p -3.20%Wolseley (WOS) 1,332.00p -2.99%Burberry Group (BRBY) 578.50p -2.69%Vodafone Group (VOD) 135.30p -2.56%Unilever (ULVR) 1,801.00p -2.07%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 1,852.00p -1.80%