FTSE 250 movers: Gold miners sparkle while Renishaw drops
London’s FTSE 250 was down 0.1% at 17,584.65 in afternoon trade on Thursday, continuing its muted performance so far in the New Year.
Gold miners Hochschild Mining, Acacia Mining and Centamin were the index's standout gainers as gold prices leapt to six month highs amid concerns over global economic slowdown.
Amit Kumar Gupta, portfolio management services head at Adroit Financial Services in New Delhi, said volatile markets always "add to the charm" of buying gold and added that there is also a major tailwind for gold early in the new year due to buying ahead of Lunar New Year holidays in some parts of the world.
Meanwhile, Premier Oil was also on the rise after staging a strong recovery from a decline on yesterday that came amid slipping oil prices and worries about oversupply.
The retail sector put in a strong performance after Next reported a 1.5% jump in sales over the key Christmas period, bolstering investor confidence and sending fellow retailers Dunelm Group and Superdry higher.
Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "If Next is the retail bellwether, then at least online sales are not as bad as the Asos warning late last year might have suggested. For the high street though, things are still look very bleak."
On the other side of the coin, the index's fallers were led by Renishaw, an engineering outfit which supplies products and services in applications from jet engine manufacture to brain surgery, and IT security firm Sophos.
Market Movers
FTSE 250 (MCX) 17,584.65 -0.01%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 175.72p 6.63%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 204.15p 5.83%
Premier Oil (PMO) 71.24p 5.70%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 120.85p 5.32%
Rank Group (RNK) 146.80p 4.86%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,112.45p 4.84%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 559.50p 4.58%
Galliford Try (GFRD) 634.00p 4.36%
Quilter (QLT) 123.00p 3.97%
Superdry (SDRY) 483.60p 3.96%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Renishaw (RSW) 3,952.00p -6.04%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 359.00p -4.98%
Amigo Holdings (AMGO) 274.00p -4.86%
Capita (CPI) 108.69p -4.82%
IMI (IMI) 935.50p -3.51%
Sanne Group (SNN) 563.00p -3.26%
IP Group (IPO) 108.80p -3.20%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,480.00p -3.14%
Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 2,368.00p -3.11%
BCA Marketplace (BCA) 209.50p -3.01%