FTSE 100 movers: Weir and Associated British Foods surge on upgrades

29th May 2015 12:44

UK stocks shook off early morning caution by the afternoon, making modest gains in spite of Greek debt and panic selling on Chinese markets.As of 14:00 BST, the FTSE 100 was trading 0.04% higher at 7,044.Weir topped the risers as Credit Suisse raised its price target on the stock to 2,205p, citing an impending bottom to the US rig count and growing global oil demand growth. The Swiss bank upped its earnings per share forecasts for 2016 and 2017 earnings per share by 9% and 8% on the improving outlook for Weir's oil and gas business.Another hoisted by analyst opinions, Associated British Foods surged after Goldman Sachs upgraded its shares to 'buy' from 'sell' and raised the price target to 3,120p from 2,755p. The US investment bank pointed out that the Primark owner's shares had underperformed by 17% in the year to-date, which offered an attractive entry point as the bargain fashion chain is launched in the US.Astrazeneca was in the red, despite announcing plans to collaborate with Lilly on immuno-oncology combination clinical trials on solid tumours.Sector-wise, precious metal miners Fresnillo and Randgold Resources were trading higher, alongside insurers Prudential and Admiral Group.Ashtead extended Thursday's losses, which came as competitor United Rentals dropped 6% from comments made at KeyBanc capital markets conference which it played down activity in May.Intertek also continued lower, following a downgrade from 'buy' to 'hold' from Deutsche Bank on Thursday. "There is opportunity for new chief executive officer, André Lacroix, to improve growth, but this may take time," the bank said. RisersAssociated British Foods (ABF) 3,034.00p +2.85%Weir Group (WEIR) 2,025.00p +2.48%Fresnillo (FRES) 756.00p +2.09%Vodafone Group (VOD) 257.85p +1.64%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,753.00p +1.52%RSA Insurance Group (RSA) 436.00p +0.95%Dixons Carphone (DC.) 477.90p +0.93%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,504.00p +0.74%CRH (CRH) 1,860.00p +0.70%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,386.00p +0.69%FallersTUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,163.00p -2.10%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 174.00p -1.69%SABMiller (SAB) 3,524.00p -1.40%Ashtead Group (AHT) 1,145.00p -1.38%Diageo (DGE) 1,816.50p -1.36%AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,439.50p -1.17%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 562.50p -1.14%Tesco (TSCO) 214.05p -1.09%Anglo American (AAL) 1,024.00p -1.06%Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,510.00p -1.06%