WEDNESDAY MARKET CLOSE: Aggreko relegated from top-flight index

Generator hire firm Aggreko has been demoted from the blue-chip index in the latest quarterly reshuffle. Picture: John Devlin

Shares in the Glasgow-based firm edged up 3p to 1,562p, but that was not enough to prevent it being relegated to the FTSE 250 Index, with the change set to take effect from 22 June.

Morrisons had been expected to drop out of the FTSE 100, but a late surge kept it in the top flight. The grocer’s shares ended the day up 5.6p at 178.1p – an increase of more than 3 per cent.

Rival supermarkets also made gains as industry data from Kantar Worldpanel pointed to a slowdown in damaging food price deflation. Tesco rose 2.95p to 210.4p, while Sainsbury’s added 4.7p to 249.8p.

The wider FTSE 100 rose 22.19 points to 6,950.46 despite figures showing Britain’s dominant services sector suffered its sharpest slowdown in growth for nearly four years in May.

Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct, said tomorrow’s economic news will be dominated by the Bank of England interest rate verdict, “but there’s nothing to suggest any change at all will be seen here”.

Elsewhere, Carphone Warehouse and Currys PC World owner Dixons Carphone was in focus as a trading update showed better-than-expected sales and prompted a profit upgrade from the group, but shares slipped after a recent strong run, down 4.5p to 474.8p.

In the FTSE 250, WH Smith rose 34p or 2.2 per cent to 1,572p as the high street retailer said the roll-out of its Food to Go range helped like-for-like sales in its travel arm lift 4 per cent in the 13 weeks to 30 May.

With Aggreko dropping out of the Footsie, satellite communications firm Inmarsat, which provided data in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, will be promoted to the top flight later this month. Its shares ended the trading session up 3p at 1,006p.