FTSE 250 movers: Renishaw retreats on results; Watches of Switzerland sparkles
London’s FTSE 250 was down 0.7% at 17,967.84 in afternoon trade on Thursday.
Engineering company Renishaw was the worst performer as it posted a drop in full-year profit as revenue fell amid "very challenging economic conditions".
National Express was also on the back foot after saying it swung to a half-year loss as the coronavirus lockdown led to an 80% slump in passenger traffic.
4imprint lost ground as the direct marketer of promotional products said half-year pre-tax profit tumbled to nearly nothing as it was "significantly" impacted by the pandemic.
Industrial thread maker Coats fell as it said first-half profits slumped as the pandemic hit demand and its supply chain.
Travel company TUI was weaker after it plunged to a €1.1bn third-quarter loss as its business shut down under coronavirus lockdowns and bookings fell through the floor.
On the upside, Watches of Switzerland was sitting pretty at the top of the index after saying first-quarter trading was ahead of expectations as the luxury watch retailer reported a 6.2% increase in annual profit.
Just Group was also up after well-received results, while John Laing was boosted by an upgrade to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’ at Barclays, which pointed to "signs of a turn in the tide of negative news".
FTSE 250 - Risers
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 309.00p 17.94%
Just Group (JUST) 55.30p 8.64%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 192.20p 6.69%
Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 136.00p 6.25%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 354.60p 3.93%
Royal Mail (RMG) 219.90p 3.63%
Carnival (CCL) 1,009.50p 3.18%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,466.50p 3.02%
John Laing Group (JLG) 298.20p 2.83%
Sabre Insurance Group (SBRE) 283.50p 2.53%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Renishaw (RSW) 4,782.00p -9.60%
National Express Group (NEX) 159.10p -9.60%
FirstGroup (FGP) 42.06p -7.32%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 315.30p -6.99%
4Imprint Group (FOUR) 2,260.00p -6.22%
Softcat (SCT) 1,333.00p -5.99%
Coats Group (COA) 58.50p -5.65%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 348.60p -5.09%
Provident Financial (PFG) 180.10p -5.01%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 245.60p -4.66%