Market Report: Citigroup analysts send Travis Perkins shares down for second day in a row

Citigroup analysts sent Travis Perkins shares down for a second day in a row as they dropped the building materials group off Citi’s buy list.

The company’s half-year results on Tuesday just missed City forecasts and the downgrade to hold dragged the shares down another 57p to 2,160p, dealing them their biggest two-day blow in more than a year.

Analyst Ami Galla praised Travis Perkins’ management for making “good progress on strategic initiatives” and said the group looks set to build its market share.

However, Ms Galla says the share price performance this year – it is up 16 per cent in 2015 – means investors are already well aware of these positives.

Travis Perkins was the biggest blue-chip laggard, but the miners boosted the FTSE 100, which rose 65.84 points to 6,752.41, thanks to a sector upgrade from Liberum Capital.

The blue-chip rise came ahead of today’s so-called Super Thursday – when the Bank of England is set to deluge the City with information.

M&A bid chatter lifted drugs giant GSK 18p to 1,419p. America’s Pfizer, which last year failed in its bid to gobble up Britain’s second biggest pharmaceuticals company, is rumoured to be mulling an offer.

Impressive passenger numbers helped eastern European airline Wizz Air fly 69p higher to 1,755p, taking the stock’s rise for this year to 35 per cent.

On AIM, Satellite Solutions Worldwide climbed 0.25p to 4.7p as it struck a deal with rival broadband provider Gigaclear to target homes across the UK without access to fast broadband. The former Leeds United boss and shell specialist Chris Akers – with long-time business partner Rodger Sargent – brought the company to market in May after a reverse takeover.

Their vehicle, Sports Resource Group, owns 3.7 per cent of the company. It is run by Andrew Walwyn, who owns 15.8 per cent, while the London property tycoon Nick Candy has a 10.9 per cent stake.

Synairgen received a shot in the arm, up 2.5p to 36p after a deal with Australia’s Pharmaxis to work on a treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a severe and fatal lung disease.