FTSE 100 movers: Whitbread, Burberry limit gains on blue chip index

(Sharecast News) - Fresnillo, Rightmove and Rolls-Royce were doing their best to lift the FTSE 100 higher on Friday, though heavy losses from blue chips Whitbread and Burberry were limiting upside for the London benchmark index. Precious metals group Fresnillo was up 1.6% as gold prices rose, with the commodity set for its fourth straight monthly gain amid increased speculation about an interest rate cut in the US next month. Recent economic data has added to hopes that the Federal Reserve will vote to lower rates at its 9-10 December meeting, which could weigh on the dollar and ultimately make gold more attractive.

Rightmove was heading higher again, having risen for the past three days as investors breathed a sigh of relief amid the lack of surprises in the Budget. The stock plunged earlier this month after the property platform cut profit forecasts for next year on the back of increased investments in AI.

In contrast, housebuilder Berkeley, whose shares have been volatile since the Budget, was in the red again on Friday. AJ Bell's head of markets Dan Coatsworth offered an explanation: "The exception to the [housing] sector's positivity is Berkeley which has greater exposure to the premium end of the market where the new supplementary council tax charges are more relevant."

Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce shares were continuing to rebound, their fourth straight gain, after dropping to a three-month low on Monday.

On the downside, Whitbread fell sharply after the Premier Inn owner's forecast that increases in property taxes introduced in the Budget would cost an extra £40m-50m in 2027. Bernstein also cut its rating to 'underperform' from 'outperform' and took a knife to the target price, marking it down to 2,500p from 3,600p.

Burberry was also suffering from negative broker comments after JPMorgan downgraded the stock to 'underweight' from 'neutral' as it took a look at the European luxury goods sector. The bank said that "consensus might be too optimistic on the improvements expected at Burberry for next year and beyond".

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,076.00p 1.65% Fresnillo (FRES) 2,626.00p 1.63% easyJet (EZJ) 492.40p 1.53% IMI (IMI) 2,432.00p 1.50% Weir Group (WEIR) 2,786.00p 1.38% WPP (WPP) 303.00p 1.30% Rightmove (RMV) 552.40p 1.28% Smurfit Westrock (DI) (SWR) 2,710.00p 1.19% Informa (INF) 957.80p 1.16% Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,721.00p 1.15%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Whitbread (WTB) 2,549.00p -9.35% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,140.00p -2.85% Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 324.20p -1.52% Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,128.00p -1.48% 3i Group (III) 3,154.00p -1.31% Games Workshop Group (GAW) 19,310.00p -1.18% Mondi (MNDI) 870.80p -1.05% Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,748.00p -1.00% Barratt Redrow (BTRW) 394.20p -0.86% Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 15,340.00p -0.78%