Source: Sharecast
Bunzl was bouncing back after a profit warning last week sent the stock to a multi-year low. The share price collapsed by more than quarter on 16 April after the distribution and services firm said 2025 results would be lower than expectations due to a weak first quarter.
On Tuesday, Bunzl announced in a regulatory filing that a person closely associated with its chief financial officer Richard Howes had purchased more than £100,000 in shares, after they dropped below the 2,500p mark for the first time since 2021.
J Sainsbury was also among the risers after announcing the launch of a share buyback programme of up to £200m, as flagged in its results announcement last week.
Also in demand was insurer Admiral after announcing the sale of its US motor insurance unit to American private equity investment firm JC Flowers & Co. Berenberg also named the stock as one of its top picks across the European insurance sector.
Precious metals miners Fresnillo gained as gold prices hit another record high, briefly topping the $3,500 mark for the first time as concerns about the US economy continued to spur a flight to safety. By late-afternoon trading, bullion futures were 0.4% higher at $3,439.30 an ounce.
US macro uncertainty was also likely weighing on the share price of building materials group CRH, which derives more than half of its revenues from the Americas region. Irish-American multinational sports betting and gambling company Flutter Entertainment was also falling sharply.
Meanwhile, DCC fell after selling its healthcare division to HealthCo Investment for a total enterprise value of £1.05bn. The company said it would return surplus capital to shareholders “while maintaining a strong, investment-grade balance sheet”.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,356.00p 2.97%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 11,640.00p 2.46%
Experian (EXPN) 3,516.00p 2.06%
Aviva (AV.) 536.60p 1.90%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 71.76p 1.82%
easyJet (EZJ) 476.70p 1.75%
Tesco (TSCO) 360.80p 1.75%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 261.20p 1.71%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,564.50p 1.69%
M&G (MNG) 198.95p 1.63%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 4,772.00p -4.18%
CRH (CDI) (CRH) 6,234.00p -3.08%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 16,725.00p -3.07%
Diploma (DPLM) 3,762.00p -2.18%
Entain (ENT) 561.60p -1.44%
Spirax Group (SPX) 5,765.00p -1.37%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,368.00p -1.35%
Pearson (PSON) 1,157.50p -1.28%
Alliance Witan (ALW) 1,100.00p -1.26%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,772.00p -1.23%
