FTSE 250 movers: FirstGroup gives back some gains; Royal Mail rises

London’s FTSE 250 was down 0.5% at 17,554.09 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.

FirstGroup was in the red, having surged on Monday following a Sunday Telegraph report that its US operations have attracted interest from several major private equity firms.

Housebuilder Vistry was weaker after it posted an 86% slump in first-half adjusted pre-tax profit as it was "significantly" by the Covid-19 lockdown and site closures.

Builders’ merchant Travis Perkins was under pressure after saying it swung to a first-half loss of £126.5m from a profit of £15.8m last year, as revenue fell due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Wickes and Toolstation owner said its performance in the first half was “significantly” affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

Royal Mail gained after a well-received update on trading for the first five months of the 2020-21 financial year. Broker Peel Hunt said the update was "surprisingly robust", showing a continuation of high parcel volume and revenue growth that is more than sufficient to offset the decline in mail revenue, although costs have also been higher.

Genus was higher after it posted a big rise in full-year pre-tax profit, with cash flows more than tripling thanks to strong sales in China.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Royal Mail (RMG) 214.20p 22.68%
Genus (GNS) 3,862.00p 8.54%
C&C Group (CCR) 216.00p 5.37%
UK Commercial Property Reit Limited (UKCM) 69.40p 4.52%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 746.20p 3.50%
William Hill (WMH) 186.70p 3.15%
Shaftesbury (SHB) 544.00p 3.03%
Carnival (CCL) 1,144.00p 2.74%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 218.50p 2.58%
Ascential (ASCL) 308.60p 2.19%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

FirstGroup (FGP) 44.66p -11.48%
Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 670.00p -7.84%
easyJet (EZJ) 584.60p -6.97%
SSP Group (SSPG) 253.80p -6.69%
Vistry Group (VTY) 596.00p -6.22%
AO World (AO.) 174.80p -6.12%
National Express Group (NEX) 119.20p -5.92%
WH Smith (SMWH) 1,183.00p -5.89%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,149.00p -5.78%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 274.80p -5.73%