FTSE 250 movers: St Modwen and property peers lead gains

Led by property companies the FTSE 250 was in positive territory on Wednesday, at odds with its larger sibling, which was being hit by a stronger pound.

Leading the mid-cap index was St Modwen Properties, which put out a strategic update alongside its holding a capital markets event, which will accelerating its commercial development pipeline, grow the residential and housebuilding business, cement its position in regeneration and bring greater focus to its portfolio and greater capital discipline.

The property developer and housebuilder also said trading has been in-line with expectations and it is benefiting from its diversified portfolio of income producing and development assets.

House broker Numis infered that the group plans to dispose of mature assets supporting a reduction in debt and retail exposure, and that "the prospect for strong cash backed profits from commercial and residential activities alongside resilience in the Industrial/logistics sector gives us confidence in our full year forecasts".

Office developer Derwent London was also higher, while housebuilder Countryside Properties was a riser along with several larger peers as Halifax's house price data gave the sector a boost as it showed UK house prices held up better than expected last month, although the year-on-year rate of price gains continued to cool.

Tullow Oil was a riser thanks to a note from Barclays where analysts reinstated their 'overweight' rating as the company nears completion of its two-year restructuring of its debt, costs and portfolio.

Barclays, which has a 220p price target on the shares, said: "This journey has required many difficult decisions, but we believe the end result is a balanced E&P business with a portfolio that can grow and remain self-sufficient in a $50/bbl oil environment."

RPC was the biggest faller even though profit more than doubled in the year to the end of March as it benefited from recent acquisitions and a weaker pound.

However, while statutory and adjusted operating profit were much higher than 2016, the difference between the adjusted figure and the statutory figure is the result of items deemed as "exceptional", i.e. £116m in costs related to bringing new businesses into the group. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, pointed made the point that these "allegedly exceptional" costs keep recurring.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,509.72 -0.20%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,744.44 0.46%
techMARK (TASX) 3,622.56 -0.33%

FTSE 250 - Risers

St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 351.20p 5.72%
Evraz (EVR) 200.50p 4.81%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 532.00p 4.52%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 174.00p 4.00%
Derwent London (DLN) 2,677.00p 3.76%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 177.20p 3.63%
CYBG (CYBG) 270.00p 3.09%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,881.00p 2.90%
Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 321.70p 2.85%
Countryside Properties (CSP) 327.00p 2.64%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

RPC Group (RPC) 802.00p -5.65%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 295.00p -4.35%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 226.60p -3.74%
Indivior (INDV) 325.80p -2.43%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 307.60p -2.04%
Essentra (ESNT) 563.50p -2.00%
Victrex plc (VCT) 1,851.00p -1.70%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 854.50p -1.56%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,737.00p -1.36%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 497.90p -1.31%