Aerospace components engineer Meggitt was lower after being identified as the ultimate owner of a company which provided battery charger units for Boeing's now grounded Dreamliner air fleet.

Pearson was also lower after weakness in the fourth-quarter selling season, which is key for higher education, consumer publishing and corporate advertising, as well as the ongoing structural changes in the industry. Negative broker notes from Investec and Liberum were also weighing on the shares.

Aggreko fell after Bank of America lowered its target price on the stock from 2,700p to 1,950p and downgraded it to neutral.

Insurance giant Admiral surged today after Goldman Sachs upped its view on the shares from 'neutral' to 'buy' and hiked its price target from 1,160p to 1,500p. Admiral was followed closely by sector peer Aviva.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) rose on reports it is planning to divide its investment bank into two separate divisions. The transformation would see the RBS's markets business split from its international banking division.

Gold miner Randgold also gained after saying that production has returned to normal at its Tongon mine after a fire in the mills section of plant three weeks ago.


FTSE 100 - Risers
Admiral Group (ADM) 1,217.00p +5.46%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 368.40p +2.68%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,951.00p +2.36%
Aviva (AV.) 374.60p +2.29%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 212.80p +2.11%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,403.00p +1.96%
GKN (GKN) 247.70p +1.81%
National Grid (NG.) 695.50p +1.76%
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 709.50p +1.72%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,561.00p +1.67%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
Pearson (PSON) 1,206.00p -2.58%
Meggitt (MGGT) 425.90p -2.58%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,804.00p -1.42%
Diageo (DGE) 1,819.50p -1.28%
Kingfisher (KGF) 269.50p -1.25%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,369.00p -1.23%
SABMiller (SAB) 2,954.00p -1.02%
Shire Plc (SHP) 2,071.00p -0.96%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,154.00p -0.94%
Experian (EXPN) 1,080.00p -0.92%

NR

Related share prices
Aviva (AV.) share price
Pearson (PSON) share price
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) share price
Aggreko (AGK) share price
Meggitt (MGGT) share price
Admiral Group (ADM) share price