FTSE 250 movers: SIG surges but Metro slumps on Numis note

London's FTSE 250 was off 0.5% to 18,943.74 in afternoon trade as Prime Minister Theresa May got the green light to trigger Article 50.

Specialist building products distributor SIG surged after it announced the appointment of Meinie Oldersma as it new chief executive as it reported a "disappointing" 2016. Investors appeared to be reassured that trading has not worsened and that numbers were in line with management's recent guidance for underlying pre-tax profit.

Ocado was on the front foot after it reported that sales growth remained in cruise control in the first quarter of 2017 and while order size continued to shrink it did so at a slower rate.

Acacia Mining got a boost as Peel Hunt upgraded its stance on the stock to 'hold' from 'reduce', noting that the group's two-year outlook has improved greatly and arguing that the recent concentrate ban is not as bad as might be feared.

JD Wetherspoon was also lifted by an upgrade from the same outfit, also to 'hold' from 'reduce', following recent weakness in the shares.

"Our view is that the recent price increase and the margin benefits from circa 40 tail-end disposals this year should support short-term forecasts. However, we do not recommend buying the shares."

On the downside, challenger Metro Bank was under pressure as Numis said the shares were trading at a significant unjustified premium to the rest of the UK banking sector and reiterated its 'sell' recommendation.

Wood Group and Amec Foster Wheeler retreated, giving back some of the strong gains from the previous session when they announced a £2.2bn all-share deal.

Risers

SIG (SHI) 117.30p 9.42%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 269.80p 4.49%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 476.80p 3.54%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,293.00p 3.44%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,649.00p 2.56%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 1,702.00p 2.35%
Pennon Group (PNN) 872.50p 1.69%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,565.00p 1.69%
Berendsen (BRSN) 829.00p 1.66%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 949.00p 1.61%

Fallers

Tullow Oil (TLW) 237.30p -5.04%
Carillion (CLLN) 222.60p -4.34%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 3,211.00p -3.95%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 736.50p -3.41%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 203.20p -3.19%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 529.00p -3.11%
St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 326.90p -2.94%
Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 327.20p -2.91%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 363.10p -2.86%
JRP Group (JRP) 146.00p -2.67%