LONDON MARKETS: M&S May Get Booted From FTSE 100 After 35 Years

By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch

Iconic U.K. retailer Marks & Spencer may get booted from the FTSE 100 after 35 years.

The FTSE 100 review is based on closing prices on Sept. 3.

DIY group Kingfisher and J Sainsbury, the supermarket chain, also are candidates for relegation to the mid-cap FTSE 250, along with Centrica, the owner of British Gas, and Direct Line, the insurer. Any company falling to 111th or lower in market cap is automatically deleted. As of Tuesday, M&S had the 112th-highest market cap.

Bottom of the bunch 
Company                Ticker    Market cap, in millions of pounds 
Marks and Spencer      UK:MKS    3,683 
Centrica               UK:CNA    3,900 
Direct Line Insurance  UK:DLG    3,981 
Kingfisher             UK:KGF    4,064 
J Sainsbury            UK:SBRY    4,292 

M&S's demotion would leave just 27 of the original 100 members in the index, excluding mergers, according to Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

Earnings have steadily dropped for M&S. It has said it is into the "first phase" of its transformation program, with the company admitting its clothing range was "too wide" and its shops "challenging to navigate." Its adjusted profit before tax dropped 9.9% in the fiscal year ending March 30.

Marks and Spencer (MKS.LN) was enjoying a rare up day on Tuesday, rising 1.2%, though it has dropped 20% this year.

The FTSE 100 was trading nearly unchanged at 7095.25 this afternoon, after a three-day break. Gainers included Abu Dhabi-based hospital operator NMC Health (NMC.LN), which rose 6.7%, and fund manager Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA.LN), up 3.9%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 27, 2019 10:19 ET (14:19 GMT)

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