FTSE 100 movers: Intertek surges as it mulls split; Imperial Brands slumps

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was flat at 10,586.37 in afternoon trade on Tuesday. Intertek surged to the top of the index as it reiterated its full-year guidance and said it was considering splitting into two businesses.

The company has launched a strategic review to evaluate the creation of two specialist businesses, Intertek Energy & Infrastructure and Intertek Testing & Assurance, either by demerger or a sale.

Tobacco company Imperial Brands slumped as it reiterated its full‑year guidance but cautioned that the conflict in the Middle East has resulted in "a more uncertain geopolitical and macro environment".

It said that while there has been no material business impact to date, the potential future impact during the second half remains uncertain. It also said it expects losses from NGPs to be "moderately higher". British American Tobacco also lost ground.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: "Tobacco and vaping can be addictive, which means investors expect steady demand for manufacturers of these products during both good and bad economic conditions. While consumers might feel the pinch during harder times, they might consider tobacco and vaping as essential items, or at least priorities over other items. In theory, that makes the tobacco and vaping sector defensive, but it's not guaranteed to always work that way.

"Imperial Brands' shares fell on a more cautious outlook where it flagged uncertainties around the Middle East conflict. The spike in energy prices threatens to drive up the cost of living and potentially make borrowing more expensive if interest rates go up. That's problematic as it could make consumers think hard about where they spend money, even on addictive products like tobacco and vaping. Some people might have no choice but to make cutbacks, even on things they cherish day to day."

BP was weaker despite saying that the first-quarter oil trading result was set to be "exceptional", after the outbreak of war in the Middle East caused energy prices to soar. Upstream oil production and operations was forecast to be slightly lower than the fourth quarter, and gas and low carbon energy slightly higher.

But the spike in energy prices at the end of the quarter meant BP now expects stronger realised refining margins in the range of +$0.1bn to $0.2bn.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: "The muted reaction to BP's stock price to this news is down to two factors, 1, the oil price is lower, which is weighing on the energy sector, and 2, this could attract the eyes of the government eager to fill their coffers, so BP should expect a hefty tax bill."

Shell also fell.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,306.00p 12.89% Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 34.84p 4.59% Fresnillo (FRES) 3,642.00p 3.35% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,170.40p 3.22% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,307.60p 3.21% Diageo (DGE) 1,494.20p 3.17% InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 142.90p 3.03% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 503.20p 2.86% Melrose Industries (MRO) 540.00p 2.81% Experian (EXPN) 2,666.00p 2.77%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,903.00p -5.53% Shell (SHEL) 3,389.50p -2.54% Tesco (TSCO) 472.10p -2.46% British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,244.00p -2.43% Airtel Africa (AAF) 372.40p -1.63% BP (BP.) 571.00p -1.57% Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,410.00p -1.33% Vodafone Group (VOD) 114.80p -1.16% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 347.80p -1.00% 3i Group (III) 2,729.50p -0.98%