FTSE 250 movers: Galliford Try rallies again; Provident in the red

London’s FTSE 250 was down 1.2% at 18,981.12 in afternoon trade on Wednesday amid growing concerns about the Sino-US trade war.

Doorstep lender Provident Financial was on the back foot as the Competition and Markets Authority said it has launched an investigation into whether Non-Standard Finance’s proposed £1.3bn takeover of its larger rival would lessen competition for consumers.

The competition watchdog also confirmed that NSF has offered to demerge its home credit business as part of the deal.

On the upside, Galliford Try was the standout gainer a day after saying it had rejected an offer from Bovis Homes for its housebuilding business.

Southend airport owner Stobart Group surged after saying that it swung to a full-year loss but that revenue rose thanks to an improvement in its two core operating businesses.

In the year to 28 February, the company swung to a loss of £58.2m from a profit of £100m the year, while revenue rose 39% to £146.9m.

Stobart said the loss for the year reflects a combination of investment in its aviation and energy divisions, one-off legal costs - mainly related to its dispute with former chief executive Andrew Tinkler - and non-cash items resulting from the intention to ensure a de-risked balance sheet.

Diploma pushed higher as JPMorgan Cazenove initiated coverage of the stock at 'overweight', saying it prefers Diploma to Electrocomponents, for its M&A record, lack of cyclicality and consistency of results.

“This is reflected in the group’s FY1 price-to-earnings ratios with Diploma on 22.7x and Electrocomponents on 15.6x,” it said.

Amigo Holdings was on the rise again a day after the release of well-received final results.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Galliford Try (GFRD) 609.61p 9.25%
Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 128.20p 9.20%
Amigo Holdings (AMGO) 242.50p 3.63%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 2,018.50p 2.77%
Diploma (DPLM) 1,498.00p 1.63%
Grainger (GRI) 252.60p 1.53%
Sanne Group (SNN) 680.00p 1.49%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 273.00p 1.49%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,152.00p 1.42%
F&C Commercial Property Trust Ltd. (FCPT) 121.04p 1.37%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Indivior (INDV) 44.97p -5.82%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 124.00p -5.05%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 215.90p -4.93%
Premier Oil (PMO) 82.38p -4.92%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 162.00p -4.54%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 199.55p -4.48%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 180.20p -4.15%
Provident Financial (PFG) 453.10p -4.13%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 434.60p -3.98%
Just Group (JUST) 56.55p -3.83%