FTSE 100 movers: Admiral rallies on Jefferies upgrade; BP gushes lower

London’s FTSE 100 was 0.3% higher at 9,307.65 in afternoon trade on Monday.

Admiral Group rallied after Jefferies upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ in a research note on the European insurance sector.

It said pricing trends in retail insurance are generally favourable across Europe, in contrast to commercial (re)insurance.

"Yet the valuation premium of retailers has narrowed. We like the risk/reward of Admiral and GJF and upgrade both names to buy," it said. "Both are showing strong earnings momentum while trading on undemanding multiples."

On the downside, BP and Shell gushed lower as oil prices fell after Kurdistan resumed crude exports over the weekend.

Rentokil Initial was in the red after Berenberg initiated coverage of the shares with a ‘sell’ rating and 284p price target.

The bank recognised the potential for market-level growth in the long term, but said it thinks it’s too early for investors to count on an upswing, due to challenges relating to the integration of Terminix.

"In the mid-term, we estimate organic growth will remain below that of the broader market, and we think the North American margin is likely to be flat to down," Berenberg said.

The bank said it expects Rentokil North America’s organic growth to remain subdued for longer than consensus (Visible Alpha) due to the ongoing complexity of the integration of Terminix, with its concerns primarily centred on conversion of lead flow and the replacement of those local leaders that have left Terminix following the acquisition.

It estimates North America Pest Control organic growth of 2.0% and 2.6% in FY26 and FY27 respectively, versus consensus of 2.7% and 3.7% respectively.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,783.00p 4.39%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 92.12p 3.51%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,298.00p 3.13%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,182.00p 2.92%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,772.00p 2.44%
BAE Systems (BA.) 2,057.00p 2.24%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 47.83p 1.97%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 229.60p 1.95%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 4,734.00p 1.59%
Glencore (GLEN) 341.00p 1.56%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 3,484.00p -3.70%
BP (BP.) 433.95p -2.59%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,662.00p -1.63%
Shell (SHEL) 2,697.50p -1.32%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,366.00p -1.04%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 365.90p -0.97%
Centrica (CNA) 165.70p -0.81%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 3,912.00p -0.71%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,159.00p -0.50%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 9,086.00p -0.42%