FTSE 100 movers: Rolls-Royce, IAG rally on Heathrow Covid test

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 5,910.22 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.
British Airways parent IAG, engine maker Rolls-Royce and GKN owner Melrose all rallied after Heathrow airport launched a one-hour Covid-19 test. The test, which costs £80, will initially only be available for passengers travelling to Hong Kong and Italy, both of which require pre-departure testing.

Elsewhere, retailer Next was trading higher after an initiation at 'overweight' by Barclays.

The bank said Next is transitioning from a UK store-based retailer into a multi-channel, multi-geography platform.

"Indeed, Next has made more progress in this direction than some may appreciate - we expect UK stores to contribute just 31% of sales and 14% of EBIT by calendar 2022. With its online business generating mid-teens percentage sales growth and margins, Next offers an interesting mix of growth and cash returns."

InterContinental Hotels and Premier Inn owner Whitbread were boosted by an upgrade to 'neutral' from 'underweight' at JPMorgan Cazenove, which said its preference six months into Covid-19 had shifted to hotels from caterers.

Housebuilders Taylor Wimpey, Barratt Developments, Berkeley and Persimmon all fell after FTSE 250 peer Bellway slashed its dividend as annual profits declined by 66% due to the coronavirus shutdown, but said reservations had risen by a third at the start of the new financial year.

FTSE 100 - Risers

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 105.40p 5.40%
Informa (INF) 436.70p 4.57%
Next (NXT) 6,394.00p 3.70%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 227.50p 3.41%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 133.85p 3.28%
SEGRO (SGRO) 938.40p 2.65%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 1,973.00p 2.49%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,276.00p 2.30%
British Land Company (BLND) 372.60p 2.22%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,302.00p 2.08%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 115.00p -1.96%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 527.40p -1.82%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,200.00p -1.50%
Just Eat Takeaway.Com N.V. (CDI) (JET) 9,784.00p -1.35%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,761.00p -1.07%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,318.00p -1.05%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,519.00p -0.98%
Pearson (PSON) 530.40p -0.97%
BP (BP.) 205.85p -0.91%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,480.00p -0.84%