LONDON MARKETS: M&S May Get Booted From FTSE 100 After 35 Years
28 August 2019 - 12:34AM
Dow Jones News
By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch
Iconic U.K. retailer Marks & Spencer may get booted from the
FTSE 100 after 35 years.
The FTSE 100 review is based on closing prices on Sept. 3.
DIY group Kingfisher and J Sainsbury, the supermarket chain,
also are candidates for relegation to the mid-cap FTSE 250, along
with Centrica, the owner of British Gas, and Direct Line, the
insurer. Any company falling to 111th or lower in market cap is
automatically deleted. As of Tuesday, M&S had the 112th-highest
market cap.
Bottom of the bunch
Company Ticker Market cap, in millions of pounds
Marks and Spencer UK:MKS 3,683
Centrica UK:CNA 3,900
Direct Line Insurance UK:DLG 3,981
Kingfisher UK:KGF 4,064
J Sainsbury UK:SBRY 4,292
M&S's demotion would leave just 27 of the original 100
members in the index, excluding mergers, according to Russ Mould,
investment director at AJ Bell.
Earnings have steadily dropped for M&S. It has said it is
into the "first phase" of its transformation program, with the
company admitting its clothing range was "too wide" and its shops
"challenging to navigate." Its adjusted profit before tax dropped
9.9% in the fiscal year ending March 30.
Marks and Spencer (MKS.LN) was enjoying a rare up day on
Tuesday, rising 1.2%, though it has dropped 20% this year.
The FTSE 100 was trading nearly unchanged at 7095.25 this
afternoon, after a three-day break. Gainers included Abu
Dhabi-based hospital operator NMC Health (NMC.LN), which rose 6.7%,
and fund manager Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA.LN), up 3.9%.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 27, 2019 10:19 ET (14:19 GMT)
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