MARKET REPORT: Reckitt Benckiser Shares Tornado Storm Weather

Reckitt Benckiser shares rose as they ignored tornado damage to a key warehouse in the United States.

The FTSE 100 home goods giant said sales in the third quarter were down 0.5 per cent on a year earlier.

Revenue from its nutrition business fell 17.4% after sales of Mead Johnson’s powdered baby formula took a £100m hit due to damage to a warehouse in Mount Vernon, Indiana.

But shares rose 4%, or 190p, to 4,953p.

Russ Mould, chief investment officer at brokerage AJ Bell, said the tornado was “clearly a one-off event and investors seemed happy to see the bigger picture.”

Sales in its hygiene division were boosted by demand for brands such as Lysol and Finish, while Durex and Nurofen performed well in its “health” division. Chief executive Kris Licht also said the group was “moving at a good pace” to restructure the company.

Earlier this year, it revealed plans to sell off the group’s slower-growing divisions while keeping what it calls its “power brands” such as Durex condoms, Gaviscon antacid, Strepsils pills and some of its hygiene brands, including Vanish. and Dettol.

The group is also reviewing options for its baby formula business as part of the overhaul.

The FTSE100 fell for the fourth consecutive session, closing down 0.58 per cent, or 47.9 points, at 8,258.64, and the FTSE 250 lost 0.57 per cent, or 119.72 points, to 20,829. .93.

In New York, McDonald’s shares fell more than 5 percent after a deadly E. coli outbreak.

Almost 50 customers have fallen ill since eating the chain’s hamburgers in the United States, one of them died and ten were hospitalized.

“This public health scare is the last thing McDonald’s needs given it has already been struggling to drive growth,” said Susannah Streeter of investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown.

Starbucks shares fell about 0.1 percent after the coffee chain suffered its worst sales decline since it was forced to close branches during the pandemic.

Boeing shares fell 1.9 per cent as chief executive Kelly Ortberg called for a “fundamental cultural change” at the struggling plane maker after quarterly losses widened to £4.6bn due to a crippling strike.

Back in London, housebuilder Barratt Redrow used its first update to say it was starting to see more stable market conditions and more affordable mortgages.

It expects to build between 16,600 and 17,200 homes in its financial year to the end of June 2025, although boss David Thomas said customer confidence will take time to fully recover.

The shares gained 2.5 per cent, or 11.9 pence, to 485.3 pence. Dove soap brand Unilever managed to add 2.5 per cent, or 11.9 pence, to 485.3 pence, even though its Indian unit Hindustan Unilever suffered a difficult second quarter.

Advertising giant WPP rose 6.1 per cent, or 47.2 pence, to 820.2 pence, as investors cheered higher revenues.

Precious metals miner Hochschild posted its strongest third quarter in five years, with gold production up 29 percent. The shares rose 1.3 per cent, or 3p, to 236p.