FTSE 250 movers: Carillion jumps on JPM upgrade; William Hill slumps on warning

London’s FTSE 250 was up 1.1% to 17,222.94 at 1450 BST, with sentiment underpinned by hopes of more stimulus from the European Central Bank and a rate cut announcement by the People’s Bank of China.

Carillion got a boost on Friday as JPMorgan Cazenove upgraded its stance on the construction and support services company to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’ as it took a look at UK contractors.

JPM said the UK non-residential construction market is in recovery mode with meaningful opportunities in both the building and infrastructure markets. The bank said it sees the greatest potential at Interserve, Carillion and Kier Group.

As far as Carillion is concerned, the broker noted that shares have declined by 16% since their last peak in August, which it sees as unjustified, particularly as they are supported by a 10% free cash flow yield in full-year 2016 and a 6% dividend yield.

Department store operator Debenhams was a high riser again after it posted growth in annual pre-tax profit on Thursday thanks to solid progress made against its strategic targets. In the year to 29 August, the group saw pre-tax profit grow 7.3% year-on-year to £113.5m on the back of an improved stock-controlling strategy and on a drastic cut down on promotions, while revenue grew 0.4% to £2.32bn.

Shares in William Hill slumped after the bookie warned that full-year operating profit will come in at the bottom end of analysts’ forecasts as a result of additional taxes on the gambling industry and a tough comparison with last year. Chief executive James Henderson said: “Q3 was always going to be a tough quarter given last year's World Cup and very strong gross win margin, allied to £23m of additional gambling duties this year.”

AA was in the black after Berenberg initiated coverage of the stock at ‘buy’ with a 350p price target. “With a new strategy in place, we expect a return to growth in personal breakdown cover and more crossselling, which, combined with strong cash conversion, will drive significant deleveraging,” said the bank.

Building products company SIG was on the back foot for a second day running after it revealed on Thursday that it is expecting a fall in underlying pre-tax profit for the year due to challenging market conditions in mainland Europe. For the nine months to 30 September, the company’s like-for-like sales were up 0.2%. In the UK and Ireland it was up 2%, but mainland Europe down was 1.7% compared to the same period last year.

Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 369.40p 6.58%
Carillion (CLLN) 319.10p 6.30%
Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) 74.40p 6.29%
AA (AA.) 277.30p 5.64%
Henderson Group (HGG) 282.90p 4.86%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 129.20p 4.79%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 87.75p 4.78%
Debenhams (DEB) 87.40p 4.30%
Man Group (EMG) 166.10p 4.14%
Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 595.00p 4.02%

Fallers

William Hill (WMH) 314.70p -8.89%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,172.00p -4.79%
Indivior (INDV) 204.40p -4.04%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 115.20p -4.00%
SIG (SHI) 136.30p -3.67%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 577.00p -3.03%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 465.80p -2.00%
Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 255.00p -1.92%
UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 458.30p -1.80%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 376.20p -1.78%