FTSE 250 movers: AA rallies on results; OneSavings slumps on stake sale
London's FTSE 250 was up 0.1% to 18,921.99 in afternoon trade, with investors likely reluctant to make any bold moves ahead of Wednesday, when PM Theresa May will trigger Article 50.
Motoring group AA rallied after saying full-year core profit was steady compared to the previous year, as expected, while membership increased, reversing a long-standing decline.
Nostrum Oil & Gas gushed higher after saying it swung to a loss in 2016 but that production this year should be higher, as its results weren't as bad as feared.
Housebuilder Redrow was on the front foot after it abandoned its bid for rival Bovis Homes, clearing the path for Galliford Try.
Redrow said on Tuesday that it was not in its shareholders' best interests to up its proposal to Bovis above the level that was rejected. Bovis shares declined.
Shares in OneSavings Bank fell after private investment firm JC Flowers & Co. sold around 24.3m shares in the challenger bank, equating to a 10% stake.
The shares were sold at 395p each, raising gross proceeds of about £96m.
Thomas Cook was under the cosh as it said its winter programme is closing out as expected although it is seeing some margin pressure in parts of the business due to increased competition.
Facilities management and construction services group Carillion retreated after Jefferies downgraded the stock to 'hold' as it cuts its earnings per share estimates following the recent results, pointing to combined debts and deficits of more than £1.1bn.
Card Factory was also in the red as its pre-tax profit for the year to the end of January slipped 1.1% to £82.8m.
Ladbrokes Coral Group pushed lower after saying it took a hit of more than £200m last year on the back of the merger. In its first full-year results as a merged company, it reported profits near the top end of forecasts and increased synergy targets, although the government's triennial review due in late spring remains a major cloud on the horizon.
Risers
AA (AA.) 269.50p 5.36%
Allied Minds (ALM) 314.50p 5.01%
Evraz (EVR) 218.50p 4.20%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 281.30p 3.08%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 431.40p 2.74%
CYBG (CYBG) 271.60p 2.72%
BGEO Group (BGEO) 3,187.00p 2.61%
FirstGroup (FGP) 131.40p 2.50%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 280.00p 2.26%
Redrow (RDW) 511.00p 2.20%
Fallers
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 394.40p -6.52%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 86.65p -3.02%
Carillion (CLLN) 213.10p -2.96%
Card Factory (CARD) 266.10p -2.88%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,895.00p -2.85%
Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 853.00p -2.29%
Capita (CPI) 558.00p -2.11%
Just Eat (JE.) 564.00p -1.91%
Ladbrokes Coral Group (LCL) 132.90p -1.77%
NMC Health (NMC) 1,748.00p -1.74%