FTSE 100 movers: Beazley surges on takeover news; Rightmove, Sage hit by AI worries

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was 1.4% higher at 10,460.46 in afternoon trade on Wednesday, having breached the 10,400 mark for the first time. Energy sales, marketing and support services business DCC was the top riser as it backed its full-year guidance and said third‑quarter adjusted operating profits had grown strongly, supported by solid organic growth and a first‑time contribution from recently acquired Austrian LPG business, FLAGA.

Entain also shot up after it said that BetMGM, its joint venture with MGM Resorts, performed ahead of expectations in 2025.

The performance reflected the benefit of a full year of strategic initiatives, which drove "strong" underlying growth in both iGaming and Online Sports, Entain said.

Net revenue grew 33% on the year to $2.8bn, with iGaming net revenue up 24% and Online Sports net revenue 63% higher. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at $220m, versus a loss of $244m a year earlier.

Beazley racked up strong gains after it reached an agreement in principle on the terms of an £8bn takeover by Zurich Insurance.

Zurich will pay 1,335p per share, which is a 59.8% premium to the closing share price on 16 January, the last business day before the offer period. The offer comprises 1,310p in cash and a dividend of 25p for the year ended December 2025.

The Lloyd's of London insurer had previously rejected offers of 1,280p a share and 1,230p a share, saying they "materially" undervalued the group. Hiscox also rallied.

GSK rose even as it said turnover growth would slow this financial year as it looked to counter the expiry of an HIV drug patent and a deal with the Trump administration to lower product prices in the US. The company expects sales to grow 3% to 5% this year, on a constant currency basis compared to 7% in 2025.

Housebuilder Berkeley Group got a boost after JPMorgan lifted the stock to 'overweight' from 'neutral' and hiked the price target to 5,000p from 4,700p.

On the downside, Rightmove, Sage Group, Relx, LSEG, Informa and Pearson were all weaker, having sold off in the previous session amid worries about the impact of AI, after Google-backed Anthropic launched a new AI tool for companies' in-house legal teams.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: "Relx has a large presence in the legal space and was in the teeth of the resulting storm. It was among several names to endure double-digit declines as investors weighed the wider implications. To what extent AI can disintermediate traditional data analytics and software firms is not yet clear, but a lot of investors weren't sticking around to find out."

FTSE 100 - Risers

DCC (CDI) (DCC) 5,060.00p 9.05% Entain (ENT) 636.60p 8.52% Beazley (BEZ) 1,258.00p 8.45% GSK (GSK) 2,066.00p 6.19% Croda International (CRDA) 2,836.00p 4.53% Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,340.00p 4.23% BT Group (BT.A) 202.10p 4.18% Mondi (MNDI) 890.20p 3.85% Tesco (TSCO) 451.80p 3.77% Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,538.00p 3.71%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Rightmove (RMV) 443.10p -5.54% The Sage Group (SGE) 833.20p -4.34% CRH (CDI) (CRH) 8,872.00p -3.77% Relx plc (REL) 2,141.00p -3.30% Barclays (BARC) 488.70p -2.57% Autotrader Group (AUTO) 497.00p -1.82% London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 7,072.00p -1.50% Informa (INF) 825.20p -1.24% St James's Place (STJ) 1,535.00p -1.16% Pearson (PSON) 884.60p -1.12%