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(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 down 1% at 9,041.51 in afternoon trade on Friday.
Intertek slumped as the quality assurance firm reported a resilient first-half performance but also pointed to mounting FX pressures and trimmed growth expectations across several business units.
Rolls-Royce surged for the second day in a row after the aerospace and defence engineer raised its full-year guidance on Thursday following a strong first half.
Educational publisher Pearson gained after it said it was on track to meet full-year forecasts with strong second-half growth as it reported a 2% rise in adjusted half-year operating profit and sales.
The company said earnings for the first six months of the year came in at £242m, while sales on an adjusted basis were also up 2%, at £1.72bn. Pearson added that it expected stronger sales growth in H2 and the fourth quarter in particular.
Melrose Industries advanced after the aerospace technology firm delivered a solid first-half report, with adjusted operating profits up by nearly a third.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,046.00p 6.02%
Pearson (PSON) 1,142.00p 5.73%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 532.80p 3.75%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,530.00p 2.70%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,144.00p 1.69%
National Grid (NG.) 1,077.50p 1.65%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,100.00p 1.63%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 9,400.00p 1.60%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,046.00p 1.56%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,419.00p 1.50%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,554.00p -7.85%
Weir Group (WEIR) 2,522.00p -5.40%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 362.40p -4.51%
Barclays (BARC) 354.45p -4.19%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 74.68p -3.73%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 22,310.00p -3.72%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,072.00p -3.58%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,000.00p -3.56%
NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 508.20p -3.38%
ICG (ICG) 2,110.00p -3.12%