FTSE 250 movers: TalkTalk up after company admits security shortfalls

The FTSE 250 was trending down in afternoon trading on Tuesday, after weak data from China fuelled global concerns about the economic health of the People's Republic.

CLS Holdings led the risers, after it had its 'buy' rating restated by equities researchers at Panmure Gordon. Their current price target on the stock was 2,016p. Panmure Gordon's price objective indicated a potential upside of 29.15% from its current price. That came after the company reported a fall in pre-tax profit earlier in the day, with the gain in the valuation of its property portfolio half what it was in 2014.

Fixed line telephone and broadband provider TalkTalk was also on the up, as CEO Dido Harding admitted that the security threat to the company was underestimated before a cyber attack last November. That attack cost the company 95,000 customers and more than £60m, with its share price more than halving from its 2015 peak by the end of the year. "We thought that we had taken security seriously. We were underestimating the challenge," Baroness Harding said.

Merchant bank Close Brothers was among the top fallers, after its assets under management experienced a 10% drop in the six months to January, and weakness was reported in its securities business caused by market turbulence. The bank still increased pre-tax profits and raised its dividend in the period, but growth in its loan book slowed.

Vedanta Resources was falling after Moody's downgraded the stock's corporate family rating to B2 from Ba2. It also downgraded the company's senior unsecured rating to Caa1 from B1, and said the outlook on all ratings was negative. "The downgrade of Vedanta's ratings is driven by the low commodity price environment that will keep earnings improvement distant, and a slower correction in leverage metrics than initially anticipated," Moody's vice president Kaustubh Chaubal said.

FTSE 250 - Risers

TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 246.80p 3.61%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,610.00p 3.14%
DFS Furniture (DFS) 315.00p 2.41%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 546.00p 2.25%
Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 134.50p 2.05%
Debenhams (DEB) 77.80p 2.03%
Hays (HAS) 120.30p 1.78%
Rank Group (RNK) 250.70p 1.66%
NMC Health (NMC) 900.00p 1.58%
John Laing Group (JLG) 216.60p 1.50%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Vedanta Resources (VED) 351.20p -7.87%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,309.00p -5.42%
Allied Minds (ALM) 351.70p -4.56%
BBA Aviation (BBA) 195.80p -4.53%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 471.40p -4.44%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 415.90p -3.82%
Greggs (GRG) 1,101.00p -3.42%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 215.50p -3.19%
Greencore Group (GNC) 347.10p -3.18%
Cranswick (CWK) 1,923.00p -3.12%