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LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.4% at 9,439.96 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.
Melrose Industries shot to the top of the index after GE Aerospace lifted its full-year profit outlook.

Property investment and development firm Segro gained as it hailed a strong third quarter, with £22m of new rent signed.

Barclays was also in the black ahead of third-quarter numbers on Wednesday.

HSBC rose as it named a former NatWest executive as chief executive of its UK business, bringing a months-long search to a close. David Lindberg will take on the role from 8 December, having stepped down as head of retail banking at NatWest earlier this year.

On the downside, precious metals miner Fresnillo lost its shine as gold and silver prices retreated from recent highs.

Bunzl lost ground as the distribution and services group backed its full-year guidance and said third-quarter trading had been in line with its expectations.

Coca-Cola HBC also fell as it said it was ramping up its presence in Africa after agreeing to acquire one of the brand's biggest bottling partners in a $2.6bn deal. The firm will buy a 75% stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) for $2.6bn, valuing the Johannesburg-based business a value at $3.4bn.

The deal will create the second-largest Coca-Cola bottling partner by volume globally, with leading positions across Africa and Europe, CCH said.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said the reaction to the acquisition "betrays some nervousness on the part of the market".

"Coca-Cola HBC already has experience in Africa, having built a presence in Egypt and having enjoyed a longstanding footprint in Nigeria. However, there will still be risks involved in operating more widely across the continent and Coca-Cola HBC will hope these are justified by the growth opportunities on offer," said Mould.

"The decision to add a secondary stock market listing in Johannesburg reflects the significance of this deal but equally, there will be relief in the UK market that the primary stock listing will remain in London.

"Debt levels will bubble higher off the back of this transaction but Coca-Cola HBC expects to remain within its target range. A solid, if not spectacular, third-quarter update, unveiled alongside the acquisition, provides a measure of reassurance to investors."

Consumer goods giant Unilever dipped after saying it had been forced to revise the timetable for its planned ice-cream unit demerger due to the ongoing US federal government shutdown which is stalling a legal registration needed to list its shares in New York.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Melrose Industries (MRO) 633.20p 5.18%
Metlen Energy & Metals (MTLN) 42.58p 4.35%
SEGRO (SGRO) 692.80p 3.00%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 97.50p 2.12%
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 987.70p 1.85%
Auto Trader Group (AUTO) 793.40p 1.46%
Pearson (PSON) 1,104.00p 1.42%
Relx plc (REL) 3,449.00p 1.29%
SSE (SSE) 1,894.00p 1.20%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,181.00p 1.20%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,252.00p -6.48%
Entain (ENT) 794.00p -2.22%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 2,648.00p -1.82%
Bunzl (BNZL) 2,410.00p -1.63%
Anglo American (AAL) 2,854.00p -1.42%
easyJet (EZJ) 480.40p -1.15%
Kingfisher (KGF) 300.00p -0.99%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 14,740.00p -0.81%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,472.00p -0.73%
Unilever (ULVR) 4,626.00p -0.71%

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