LONDON -- The FTSE 100 is sitting on another new five-year record at the time of writing, having gained 14 points to 6,571 so far today. Driven by positive earnings reports and economic optimism from China, the index of top UK shares has smashed through the record of 6,534 points it set on March 12, after four straight days of rises.
But not all FTSE 100 companies are enjoying the same success. Here are three whose shares are dropping today:
Sainsbury
J Sainsbury shares dipped 9.8 pence (2.5%) to 387 pence by mid-morning, after the supermarket chain revealed a 1.4% fall in full-year pre-tax profit to 788 million pounds -- although underlying profit is up 6.2% to 756 million pounds. Total sales rose by 4.6% to 25.6 billion pounds. There will be a full-year dividend of 16.7 pence per share, which is a rise of 3.7% over last year and represents a yield of 4.3% on the current share price.
In other news, the company is to take full control of Sainsbury's Bank by buying the 50% owned by Lloyds Banking Group, for 248 million pounds. The bank, which has been in operation since 1997, has grown its profits for five successive years and recorded a pre-tax profit of 59 million pounds in its last year.
Standard Chartered
Speaking of banks, Standard Chartered shares are down 86 pence (5.1%) to 1,614 pence after the Asia-focused bank announced a profit fall in its first quarter. Operating profit dropped by around 5% after debt restructuring in Korea hurt performance, and it was hit by weaker trading in Singapore. But overall revenue was up after good growth in Hong Kong and Africa.
Standard Chartered shares had been rising strongly, almost hitting 1,700 pence in early March, before the recent mini-slide set in.
InterContinental Hotels
Shares in InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG +2.67%) fell 64 pence (3.3%) to 1,897 pence, despite announcing a solid first quarter. The group, which owns Holiday Inn among other brands, told us that system size is up 1.9% from a year ago, reaching 674,000 rooms by March 31. Revenue per available room rose by 3.1%, with a 0.6% rise in occupancy and a 2% rise in room rates.
The firm has sold its London Park Lane property for $469 million in cash, and has agreed a management contract for an initial 30 years.
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