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Important information: The value of investments can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest. Investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This is a third-party news feed and may not reflect Fidelity’s views.

FTSE 100 movers: Unilever rallies on results; Centrica slumps

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was flat at 8,152.18 in afternoon trade on Thursday. Consumer goods company Unilever rallied despite posting worse-than-expected second-quarter underlying sales.

British American Tobacco gained as its first-half profits beat analysts' expectations, with Imperial Brands also in the black.

Business information specialist Relx advanced as it reported a robust set of first-half results, underscoring strong underlying growth and reaffirming its positive full-year outlook.

Anglo American rose even as it said it took a further $1.6bn write-down on its British fertiliser project in North Yorkshire.

British Gas owner Centrica fell after saying it was extending its share buyback programme as it posted a drop in first-half profits in what it called a more "normalised" external environment. In the six months to 30 June, adjusted operating profit fell to £1.04bn from 2.08bn in the same period a year earlier, with pre-tax profit down to £1.1bn from £2.07bn.

Adjusted operating profit at British Gas Energy slid to £159m from £969m.

Airtel Africa was down as the telecoms group said it saw first-quarter revenues rise by almost a fifth at constant currencies, but reported that sales dropped sharply due to the ongoing currency devaluation in Nigeria.

AstraZeneca lost ground even as the pharmaceuticals giant lifted its full-year guidance and posted an 18% increase in total revenue for the first half to $25.6bn, driven by significant growth in product sales and alliance revenue.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Unilever (ULVR) 4,675.00p 6.32% British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,696.00p 4.66% Relx plc (REL) 3,580.00p 2.81% Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,122.00p 1.73% Anglo American (AAL) 2,250.00p 1.26% Haleon (HLN) 343.90p 1.24% Diageo (DGE) 2,523.00p 1.06% easyJet (EZJ) 445.30p 1.04% Pearson (PSON) 1,036.00p 0.97% Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,121.50p 0.90%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Centrica (CNA) 130.85p -8.53% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,850.00p -5.96% Airtel Africa (AAF) 110.00p -4.35% Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 2,028.00p -4.34% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 429.70p -3.20% AstraZeneca (AZN) 11,826.00p -3.18% Ashtead Group (AHT) 5,094.00p -2.82% Fresnillo (FRES) 590.50p -2.72% SSE (SSE) 1,798.50p -2.70% IMI (IMI) 1,771.00p -2.69%

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Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

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