FTSE 250 movers: Tullow gains on broker upgrades; Euromoney drops on acquisition

London’s FTSE 250 index was down 0.8% to 16,489.54 at 1528 BST, falling in line with the broader market as investors continued to fret about an economic slowdown in China.

Oil exploration and production company Tullow Oil was the standout gainer, benefiting from two rating upgrades. Macquarie lifted the stock to ‘outperform’ from ‘neutral’ saying it was good value, while Cantor raised it to ‘hold’ from ‘sell’.

Outsourcing services company Mitie rallied after saying it had a good start to the year, with organic revenue growth driven by new and recently-expanded contracts. In a pre-close trading statement, Mitie said 94% of budgeted revenues for this financial year have already been secured.

It said there were no further exceptional costs from exiting the construction market to concentrate on facilities management, with the firm's social housing business performing well and the homecare division winning two “significant” contracts in the face of challenging market conditions.

Low-cost airline Wizz Air Holdings was on the front foot after it raised its full-year net profit guidance and said it has traded well in the first half of the 2016 financial year. The company said its strong first-half financial performance, combined with robust bookings for the third quarter are encouraging and it now expects to report a net profit for the full year in the range of €190m to €200m, up from previous guidance of €175m to €185m in July.

On the downside, shares in Euromoney Institutional Investor slumped after it announced the acquisition of a 10% interest in intentional private capital placements platform and workflow tools provider Zanbato, for a consideration of $5.5m funded from existing cash resources. Euromoney, which is an international online information and events group, said the investment is part of a $14m series B funding round aimed at expanding the capital base of Zanbato.

Risers

Tullow Oil (TLW) 166.70p +5.77%

CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,882.00p +4.85%

Vedanta Resources (VED) 446.80p +4.12%

Wood Group (John) (WG.) 600.00p +3.63%

Mitie Group (MTO) 296.80p +3.27%

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 1,951.00p +3.12%

Serco Group (SRP) 100.80p +2.65%

Polymetal International (POLY) 566.00p +2.63%

Ophir Energy (OPHR) 84.45p +2.61%

Weir Group (WEIR) 1,143.00p +2.60%

Fallers

IP Group (IPO) 224.80p -5.74%

Worldwide Healthcare Trust (WWH) 1,625.00p -4.41%

Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 940.50p -4.32%

Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 940.50p -4.13%

Genus (GNS) 1,409.00p -3.95%

Aveva Group (AVV) 2,023.00p -3.94%

Redrow (RDW) 450.90p -3.53%

Man Group (EMG) 150.10p -3.47%

Circassia Pharmaceuticals (CIR) 290.10p -3.30%

Rightmove (RMV) 3,641.00p -3.27%