FTSE 100 movers: Shire slips on bid rebuff, Smiths lifted by activist hopes

4th Aug 2015 14:47

(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 100 was marginally in the red on Tuesday afternoon after an early fall was followed by a sharp bounce that soon lost momentum.London's primary equity index was down 0.14% at 6,679.14 points by 1405 BST, with shares in drug company Shire leading the fallers.The Dublin-headquartered pharmaceuticals group made a hostile takeover approach for US immune deficiencies specialist Baxalta at roughly $30.6bn, only a month after it was spun out by Baxter International. So far, Baxter's management has refused to enter discussions, with the London-listed company calling for a change of heart in order to produce "immediate shareholder value and accelerate the growth plans of both companies".Building materials group Travis Perkins was another faller in spite of what looked like robust first-half results in the face of continued wobbles in the plumbing and heating market. Sales growth accelerated in the second quarter and the dividend was lifted 20% as "signs of recovery" were seen in the bathroom installations market.The market also took a dim view of Standard Life's half-year results. Although the life company-turned-asset manager tried to impress investors with a better dividend than was expected, its funds under management and pre-tax profits missed some analysts' forecasts and post-tax profits slipped due to several one-off charges.Coca-Cola HBC was down ahead of its interim results on Thursday. Analysts at Shore Capital said they expected the strong volume growth from the group reported in the first quarter of the financial year, when volumes were up 7%, to broadly have continued into the second quarter, albeit there may be some negative impact from the timing of Easter. The big unknowns were foreign exchange, input costs and the level of efficiency gains management has begun to drive through the business.Shares in engineering company Meggitt rose sharply after it posted a 6% rise in underlying first-half pre-tax profit as stronger-than-expected military revenue offset challenging conditions in the energy market, and announced two contract wins.Aerospace engineer Smiths Group was up on news that US activist hedge fund ValueAct has built up a near-5% stake. Credit Suisse's calculations of a potential break-up valuation scenario pointed to a £15 valuation per share. FTSE 100 - RisersMeggitt (MGGT) 490.60p +5.69%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,210.00p +5.31%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,162.00p +2.20%Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,483.00p +2.08%Fresnillo (FRES) 645.50p +1.97%Antofagasta (ANTO) 578.00p +1.76%Anglo American (AAL) 791.50p +1.60%Centrica (CNA) 269.50p +1.51%Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 370.70p +1.28%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 3,826.00p +1.06%FTSE 100 - FallersShire Plc (SHP) 5,470.00p -4.54%Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,292.00p -3.87%Travis Perkins (TPK) 2,190.00p -3.10%Standard Life (SL.) 441.90p -2.77%Barclays (BARC) 282.05p -2.13%Ashtead Group (AHT) 946.50p -1.92%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 825.00p -1.90%ARM Holdings (ARM) 975.50p -1.81%Standard Chartered (STAN) 956.60p -1.80%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,675.00p -1.69%