FTSE 250 movers: Diploma soars while Hays slumps

The FTSE 250 was just above the waterline on Thursday afternoon, as the pound strengthened and shares of commodity producers continued to slump.

Diploma was on the rise, a day after its results led to a research report from Peel Hunt upgraded the stock to ‘add’.

The report noted a target price of 900p on Diploma’s shares, which at the time indicated a potential upside of 8.96% on the stock.

Housebuilders were among the leading gainers, a day after Nationwide revealed UK house prices rose more than expected in August despite Brexit uncertainty.

Redrow was among the top risers on the FTSE 250.

Recruiter Hays was in the red despite reporting a rise in profit for the year to the end of June as net fee income grew.

The company also reported a sharp drop in UK hiring in the wake of the Brexit referendum.

Stagecoach and Aggreko shares dropped after going ex-dividend, along with a number of other stocks across the London market.

Grafton Group was under pressure as Canaccord Genuity cut its rating on the stock to ‘hold’ from ‘buy’ and lowered its target price to 595p from 640p.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Allied Minds (ALM) 352.90p 8.65%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 318.60p 7.16%
PayPoint (PAY) 1,047.00p 6.84%
Diploma (DPLM) 882.50p 6.20%
Redrow (RDW) 389.80p 4.93%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 269.70p 4.90%
IP Group (IPO) 198.90p 4.68%
DFS Furniture (DFS) 283.00p 4.47%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 937.00p 4.34%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 72.60p 4.31%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ascential (ASCL) 254.50p -3.96%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 144.50p -2.69%
Evraz (EVR) 124.90p -2.42%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 222.30p -2.33%
Vectura Group (VEC) 128.10p -2.21%
Aggreko (AGK) 1,000.00p -1.86%
JRP Group (JRP) 96.25p -1.79%
Pendragon (PDG) 33.35p -1.62%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 278.70p -1.28%
G4S (GFS) 227.80p -1.21%