LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - Hikma Pharmaceuticals has pushed Tullow Oil out of Britain's benchmark FTSE100 equity index, following a drop in Tullow's stockprice while Hikma's shares rose.
The changes were announced by FTSE Group on Wednesday.
Getting into the FTSE 100 can often fuel further demand fora company's shares, since funds that track the FTSE or invest inthe index can then add that stock to their portfolio.
The rankings are decided on market capitalisation. Companieswith the lowest market cap in the FTSE 100 drop into the FTSE250 mid-cap index, and companies with the highest marketcap on the FTSE 250 get promoted into the top index.
Tullow has been hit by a slump in the oil price and concernsthat a boundary dispute between Ivory Coast and Ghana coulddelay a project off the West African coast.
By contrast, in November Hikma raised its annual revenuegrowth target due to strong demand for itsproducts.
All changes from the reshuffle will be implemented at theclose of business on March 20 and take effect from the start oftrading on March 23. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Atul Prakash)