FTSE 250 movers: Ferrexpo falls, Games Workshop surges

London's FTSE 250 was 0.33% lower at 20,365.23 in afternoon trade on Friday, with Ferrexpo leading the index downward.

IMI dropped after being cut from 'overweight' to 'equal weight' by Morgan Stanley just a day after the engineering firm said it was on course to meet expectations, while Senior fell after JPMorgan cut its price target from 230p to 165p.

John Wood Group dipped after registering solid gains in the previous session on the back of confirmation that its full-year underlying earnings outlook remained broadly in line with consensus.

Up at the other end of the index, Games Workshop surged after the maker of miniature wargames said trading since its update in September had continued "well", with profit and sales ahead of the previous year.

AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould said: "While it isn’t entirely immune from any economic downturn and the negative effects that might have on consumer spending, there is a sense that Games Workshop is currently enjoying a sweet spot whereby it is offering products which appeal to its end-market and in an engaging way.

"The community spirit of its offering, particularly the way staff interacts with customers in-store, gives it an edge over mainstream retailers."

Insurer Beazley racked up solid gains after the Lloyd's insurer posted 12% growth in gross written premiums for the nine months to the end of September.

TI Fluid Systems climbed after analysts at Goldman Sachs hiked the stock's target price from 197p to 223p, while Spirent rose after saying it saw continued business growth and remained confident that it would show progress in 2019.

Finally, homeware retailer Dunelm was in the green after an upgrade to 'buy' from 'neutral' by analysts at UBS, who said their new analysis showed clear visibility of market share gains and future growth.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,365.23 -0.33%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Games Workshop Group (GAW) 5,340.20p 18.51%
Beazley (BEZ) 579.50p 7.51%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 3.18p 6.82%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 218.50p 4.55%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 440.50p 3.67%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 208.00p 3.48%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 720.40p 3.39%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 782.00p 2.16%
Ascential (ASCL) 338.60p 1.87%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 67.80p 1.80%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Ferrexpo (FXPO) 127.11p -7.93%
Investec (INVP) 445.30p -5.38%
IMI (IMI) 1,105.50p -2.68%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 186.35p -2.64%
Playtech (PTEC) 395.80p -2.61%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 511.40p -2.59%
Capita (CPI) 155.70p -2.54%
Senior (SNR) 174.50p -2.46%
Aggreko (AGK) 800.00p -2.42%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 370.90p -2.39%