FTSE 250 miners: Metals and oil stocks rebound

The FTSE 250 was in the black on Friday, with the index up 231.28 points (1.52%) to 15,410.08 by mid-afternoon.

Miners featured at the top of the risers list as metal prices rebounded, with shares in Vedanta Resources up nearly 8% as a result.

The company also said it is cutting US$100m from its 2016 capex projects for Gamsberg zinc mine in South Africa in response to current commodity pricing pressure, according to SNL. It also signalled capex cuts of 30% for FY16.

Oil prices were on the rise again, sending shares in Tullow Oil up despite a downgrade by Exane BNP Paribas. The investment bank cut the company from ‘outperform’ to ‘neutral’ as it signalled the challenges for the oil exploration and production sector are “worse than we thought”.

“A weakening demand environment, US shale’s continued resilience and conventional supply growth through Q4 has caused the supply-demand balance to worsen,” it said in a note.

It said OPEC isn’t willing to play ball, so US shale must step up. However it did say there are some positives in the sector.

“At USD35/bbl US shale will start to accelerate the supply response in H2.

“Prices should respond from current levels but will remain capped by the deflationary effects across the value chain, we think.”

Exane BNP Paribas said it believed Tullow Oil is now fairly priced on revised oil price assumptions, which is why it has been downgraded and had its target price cut 45% to 163p.

Weir Group, which provides engineering solutions to the oil and gas industry, also saw shares rise.

Meanwhile Henderson Group continued to fall on Friday, after a more cautious outlook statement from the company the previous day that outweighed annual earnings beating consensus forecasts.

Final results from the funds group saw assets under management (AuM) of £92.0bn, up 13% over the year and ahead of consensus forecasts of just over £89bn, but net revenue was slightly below expectations at £602m.

Chief executive Andrew Formica said: "The first few weeks of 2016 have been challenging for investors and our clients, with a wide range of economic and geo-political risks weighing on markets. We will review our short term plans if difficult market conditions persist, but remain focused on our long term goals to grow and globalise our business."

Shares in SuperGroup also dropped after its founder sold 4m shares due to “personal circumstances” amid reports he plans to use the proceeds to fund his divorce.

The shares in the company behind the popular Superdry fashion brand were sold at 1,200p each via an accelerated bookbuild placing to institutional investors.

SuperGroup announced the placing late on Thursday.

Following the share sale, Julian Dunkerton, who stepped down as chief executive in 2014, remains the largest shareholder in the company, with 22.1m shares or a 27.2% stake.

Dunkerton is said to have separated from his wife Charlotte around three years ago but only recently began divorce proceedings.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Vedanta Resources (VED) 225.00p 7.71%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 158.00p 7.19%
Pendragon (PDG) 35.89p 6.66%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 148.90p 6.05%
FirstGroup (FGP) 85.25p 5.57%
Meggitt (MGGT) 368.20p 5.50%
Weir Group (WEIR) 834.00p 5.37%
Aggreko (AGK) 826.50p 4.75%
Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 327.80p 4.69%
BBA Aviation (BBA) 162.80p 4.43%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Henderson Group (HGG) 214.30p -6.46%
Atkins (WS) (ATK) 1,113.00p -6.23%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,286.00p -3.24%
Assura (AGR) 54.10p -2.52%
Lookers (LOOK) 147.80p -2.44%
Tritax Big Box Reit (BBOX) 124.70p -2.12%
Interserve (IRV) 357.70p -2.00%
Countrywide (CWD) 327.50p -1.83%
AO World (AO.) 160.10p -1.78%
PayPoint (PAY) 728.00p -1.62%