FTSE 100 movers: Rolls-Royce retreats; Persimmon leads housebuilders higher

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was down 0.8% at 6,109.37 in afternoon trade on Thursday.
Rolls-Royce slumped as it said its free cash outflow was £3bn in the first half of 2020 as widebody engine flying hours halved because of the "historic shock" to civil aviation caused by the Covid-19 crisis. The engine maker said it expected performance to improve in the second half and that annual free cash outflow would be about £4bn. It warned that the civil aviation industry would take several years to recover but said its defence business was resilient.

SSE and National Grid were under the cosh after energy regulator Ofgem said network operators should invest £25bn from 2021 to 2026 to deliver emissions-free energy. It also proposed cutting the returns companies can make to reduce household bills. Both SSE and National Grid said they were "disappointed" with the plans.

On the upside, Persimmon was the standout gainer on the index after it reported a drop in half-year revenues and completions due to the coronavirus pandemic but said demand since its reopening has been "positive" with weekly average net private sales reservations of 278 new homes being around 30% higher than the same period a year ago

Other housebuilders followed suit, with Berkeley, Barratt and Taylor Wimpey all up.

Ladbrokes owner GVC Holdings rallied after saying it had agreed with joint-venture partner MGM to increase investment in its US sport betting online gaming business.

GVC announced late on Wednesday that total investment in ROAR Digital, which operates as BetMGM, has been lifted to $450m after shareholders committed to a second round of investment.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Persimmon (PSN) 2,609.00p 7.23%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,433.00p 4.58%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,009.50p 4.03%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 839.60p 3.68%
Avast (AVST) 566.00p 3.38%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 537.60p 2.99%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 145.50p 2.86%
Fresnillo (FRES) 930.40p 2.40%
Glencore (GLEN) 176.78p 2.27%
Ferguson (FERG) 6,682.00p 1.98%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 261.50p -9.14%
National Grid (NG.) 856.60p -4.74%
SSE (SSE) 1,287.00p -4.03%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,935.50p -3.71%
Pearson (PSON) 549.80p -2.86%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 275.10p -2.62%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,098.50p -2.36%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 1,406.50p -2.33%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,382.00p -2.26%
Informa (INF) 436.90p -2.22%