FTSE 250 movers: Drax powers ahead but Sophos slumps on stake sale

London's FTSE 250 index was up 0.5% to 17,507.03 at 1435 GMT, tracking the broader market as investors cheered news that Britain's big banks had passed the Bank of England's stress tests.

Shares in Drax powered ahead after the European Commission approved the UK government's support for converting the Lynemouth power station from coal to biomass. Lynemouth Power, a subsidiary of RWE Supply and Trading. The Lynemouth plant in Northumberland is one of eight projects in the UK, including a Drax biomass conversion plan, aiming to generate generate more electricity from renewable sources.

The EU has yet to rule on Drax’s project in North Yorkshire, but the ruling on Tuesday appears to bode well for the company.

Petra Diamonds sparkled after announcing the acquisition of an interest in the Kimberley Mines in South Africa from De Beers Consolidated Mines Proprietary Ltd, in a consortium with Ekapa Mining for around $7.2m. The diamond mining group will pay around $3.6m for a 49.9% stake in the mines, while Ekapa will own the rest.

Home Retail surged following a report that Nicholas Marshall, a former executive of the Garden Centre Group, is mulling a bid for Homebase. According to the Financial Times, Marshall has been looking at Homebase for the last couple of years and has been holding talks with private equity firms regarding a possible bid.

BlueCrest AllBlue Fund was in the black after hedge fund BlueCrest Capital Management said it will return to its clients the $8bn it currently manages on their behalf to focus on managing assets solely on behalf of its partners and employees. It said taking the firm private and concentrating on a reduced number of funds, managed exclusively on behalf of BlueCrest's partners and employees, will facilitate higher returns and greater profitability for stakeholders, and give it greater flexibility to compete aggressively for trading talent.

Web security firm Sophos was the standout loser after investor Pentagon Lock Funds sold its 13.3% stake in the company, while engineer Weir Group slid after HSBC cut its rating on the stock to ‘reduce’ from ‘hold’.

Premier Oil was under the cosh after Credit Suisse initiated coverage of the stock at ‘underperform’. “Sea Lion in the Falklands is the company's main growth project that has yet to be sanctioned, and could add significantly to production into the 2020s, but the project is not economic at current oil prices, in our view,” the Swiss bank said. “Without Sea Lion, the company lacks growth opportunities and its production profile declines post Catcher plateau in 2019.”

Risers

Drax Group (DRX) 252.70p 12.26%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 71.55p 11.54%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 207.70p 5.75%
Serco Group (SRP) 116.10p 5.07%
Renishaw (RSW) 1,929.00p 4.89%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 107.70p 4.66%
BlueCrest AllBlue Fund Ltd. GBP Shares (BABS) 200.00p 4.49%
AO World (AO.) 155.60p 4.43%
Countrywide (CWD) 409.80p 4.35%
Poundland Group (PLND) 224.60p 4.13%

Fallers

Sophos Group (SOPH) 261.30p -7.86%
SSP Group (SSPG) 302.10p -3.88%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,800.00p -2.70%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,174.00p -2.33%
esure Group (ESUR) 248.60p -1.78%
Bodycote (BOY) 570.00p -1.72%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 378.20p -1.69%
Premier Oil (PMO) 69.90p -1.62%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 140.00p -1.62%
Allied Minds (ALM) 417.40p -1.56%