FTSE 100 movers: Sainsbury's gains ahead of update; defensives rise

26th Jun 2026 14:57

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 10,486.81 in afternoon trade on Friday.

There wasn't a whole lot happening on the top-flight index, but Sainsbury's was higher ahead of a first-quarter trading update next Tuesday.

Previewing the update, UBS said it expects Q1 grocery growth of around 3.5%, in line with consensus, reflecting weaker industry data driven by weather, disinflation and stabilising or improving competitors.

"We expect the longer 16-week period to benefit from better late-May weather, though against tough comps," the bank said.

UBS also said it was looking for full-year guidance to be reiterated, reinforcing confidence in profit delivery despite softer Q1 sales.

Defensive British American Tobacco, Reckitt Benckiser, Imperial Brands, British American Tobacco and Diageo also rose.

Patrick Munnelly at Tickmill Group said the rotation into defensives "showed investors were not abandoning UK equities, but they were reducing economic sensitivity".

FTSE 100 - Risers

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 7,444.00p 2.54%

Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,930.00p 1.86%

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,862.00p 1.85%

Tesco (TSCO) 461.20p 1.32%

British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,733.00p 1.30%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 315.00p 1.25%

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,793.00p 0.90%

Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,094.00p 0.88%

Admiral Group (ADM) 3,490.00p 0.87%

Diageo (DGE) 1,570.00p 0.51%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Croda International (CRDA) 3,027.00p -4.66%

ICG (ICG) 1,624.00p -3.33%

Whitbread (WTB) 2,449.00p -3.21%

Barclays (BARC) 507.50p -2.51%

Melrose Industries (MRO) 462.80p -2.51%

Diploma (DPLM) 6,990.00p -2.51%

Spirax Group (SPX) 6,835.00p -2.49%

Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 10,700.00p -2.45%

Airtel Africa (AAF) 333.40p -2.44%

Abrdn (ABDN) 234.40p -2.33%