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The Markets
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The Markets
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Pharma & Biotech

Risers & Fallers: BP, BHP Billiton, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, TalkTalk Telecom, Tullow Oil, UDG Health

Two resource majors plunge as worries rise that their juicy dividends may be unsustainable.

Below are some of the main news-driven share price changes among FTSE 350 stocks at 1.30pm.

RISERS

Talktalk Telecom Group (LON:TALK), up 5.8%. It looks like the telecoms and internet service provider is making a recovery from the hacking scandal, with fiscal third quarter revenue growth of 1.8% year-on-year, and management talking of the business “returning to normal”.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LON:HIK), up 3.3%. BofA Merrill Lynch has upgraded the drugs company to 'buy' from 'neutral'.

UG Healthcare (LON:UDG), up 2.2%. The healthcare services provider looks in fairly decent nick itself, after it reported a strong start to its new financial year, which runs to the end of September.

FALLERS

BP (LON:BP., down 9.0%. Results were worse than expected, with the oil giant posting its biggest annual loss for two decades, and the handsome dividend is increasingly looking unsustainable. Brent crude slumping 3% in the morning session hasn't helped either.

Tullow Oil (LON:TLW), down 7.0%. Liberum has issued notes on a number of energy companies this morning and as well as downgrading BP to 'hold' from 'buy' it has done the same for Tullow. Nomura, meanwhile, has cut Tullow's target price to 150p from 185p.

BHP Billiton (LON:BLT), down 6.7%. If BP's dividend is increasingly looking unsustainable, what about mining giant BHP Billiton's? Only Anglo American's 6.9% fall prevents it from being the biggest faller in the mining sector.

Below are some of the main news-driven share price changes at around 9.30pm.

Risers

Zincox (LON:ZOX) up 63% to 0.90p. A premium priced £205,000 share placing will allow the group the chance to advance its zinc recycling outside South Korea, or explore other options.

Sainsbury (LON:SBRY), up 2.6% to 250.80p. A deal has been reached for the supermarket to purchase Argos owner Home Retail (LON:HOME) for about £1.3bn.

Red Rock Resources (LON:RRR), up 13% to 0.43p. The natural resources investment company is now, by proxy, an oil producer following the completion of work at the Shoats Creek project, in Louisiana.

Fallers

BP (LON:Bp.), down 7% to 341.25p. The oil supermajor revealed a halving of profits in 2015, due to the collapse in oil prices.

Essentra (LON:ESNT), down 4.7% to 697.5p. The packing group had its price target slashed by Deutsche Bank to 850p from 975p due to the bank’s increasingly bearish view on its sector, but a ‘buy’ rating was retained.

Ophir (LON:OPHR), down 4.2% to 86.30p. The African offshore explorer had been on a good run of late, rising about 25% in the final days of 2015, it has since fallen with the sector and has today been downgraded to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’ by Liberum Capital.

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