FTSE 100 movers: Supermarket stocks take a hit

2nd Oct 2013 14:45

Coca-Cola HBC continued to slide lower to become the biggest faller this afternoon. However, much of the focus was on supermarket giant Tesco today as it registered steep losses after disappointing the market with its interim results. Half-year underlying pre-tax profit fell 7.4% to £1.4bn as an improvement in the UK was offset by tough market conditions in Europe and Asia. Sainsbury was also lower though losses eased somewhat by this afternoon after the company said it had outperformed rival retailers in its fiscal second quarter. The company reported a 5% increase in sales, accelerating from the 3.6% growth in the first three months of the year, as it continues to grow its market share.Sector peer Morrison was also trading in the red after going ex-dividend this morning, meaning that from today investors will no longer be able to get their hands on the company's latest payout. Intertek, British Land and Weir also went ex-div today.Meanwhile, leading the upside were utility stocks with National Grid, Severn Trent, SSE and Centrica heading higher. Banking group Barclays was in demand after Societe Generale upgraded its rating to 'buy'. Natural gas giant BG Group was up after it said it found 'excellent' results from its completed drill-stem test in its part-owned Pweza gas field offshore southern Tanzania.FTSE 100 - RisersNational Grid (NG.) 743.50p +1.71%SSE (SSE) 1,488.00p +1.29%Barclays (BARC) 272.85p +1.13%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,790.00p +0.90%Sage Group (SGE) 333.50p +0.88%IMI (IMI) 1,471.00p +0.75%Tate & Lyle (TATE) 743.00p +0.68%United Utilities Group (UU.) 704.50p +0.64%Capita (CPI) 1,019.00p +0.39%BG Group (BG.) 1,179.50p +0.34%FTSE 100 - FallersCoca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,770.00p -3.01%Tesco (TSCO) 349.20p -2.76%Intertek Group (ITRK) 3,263.00p -2.71%Aggreko (AGK) 1,501.00p -2.60%Pearson (PSON) 1,220.00p -2.40%Kingfisher (KGF) 380.50p -2.31%Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,390.00p -2.04%GKN (GKN) 342.60p -1.97%Shire Plc (SHP) 2,461.00p -1.76%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 117.60p -1.75%NR