FTSE 250 movers: Pagegroup hit by downgrade; Wood Group rallies

London’s FTSE 250 was down 1.1% at 21,749.30 in afternoon trade on Monday, with sentiment undermined by escalating geopolitical tensions following the US assassination last week of Iran’s top general.

Recruiter Pagegroup was hit by a downgrade to ‘hold’ at Jefferies.

Games Workshop was in the green as broker Peel Hunt included the stock in a list of 35 companies it sees as the best growth prospects in its coverage for 2020.

Energy services companies Wood Group and Petrofac were among the best performers as oil prices rallied amid worries about disruption to supply, with Brent crude breaching the $70 a barrel for the first time in three months.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "We have seen similar moves as those seen in the wake of the Iranian attack on Saudi Arabian facilities in September. That time the gap was filled relatively swiftly as there was no retaliation by Riyadh - there was no escalation. We are in a different territory here and a new order of magnitude, but the rules are the same.

"The big uncertainties right now for crude centre on the Iranian response to the killing and on that front we should expect some kind of a response. Will Tehran target US bases? It could focus more on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, but we have already seen attacks on a US base in Kenya killing three and rockets fired into the Green Zone in Baghdad.

"Iran does not need to use conventional military forces to respond and indeed so far it has not delivered a conventional military response despite all the chest thumping. It does not want to give the US further excuses to bomb it to the ground with an overt reply. Trump is no Obama - enemies believe he will strike."

FTSE 250 - Risers

Wood Group (John) (WG.) 416.20p 5.88%
Fresnillo (FRES) 678.40p 2.63%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 159.00p 2.12%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 119.90p 1.96%
Ultra Electronics Holdings (ULE) 2,178.00p 1.78%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 622.20p 1.50%
Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 91.50p 1.44%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 388.80p 1.30%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 6,240.00p 1.22%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 3.72p 1.09%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,228.00p -5.25%
Hammerson (HMSO) 292.80p -5.15%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,950.00p -4.88%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 510.20p -4.85%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 515.50p -4.80%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 235.50p -4.27%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 373.60p -4.21%
Pagegroup (PAGE) 499.40p -4.15%
Sabre Insurance Group (SBRE) 289.50p -4.14%
Softcat (SCT) 1,136.00p -4.05%