FTSE 250 movers: Tullow shines on oil rally; Henderson goes ex-div

London’s FTSE 250 index was down 0.1% to 16,636.27 in afternoon trading.

Tullow Oil was the standout gainer, with oil prices in the black as a wildfire near Canada’s oil-sands district and fighting in Libya boosted prices.

Greggs was also a high riser after Investec initiated coverage of the stock at buy with a 1,250p price target.

Insurance group Esure was in the black after saying first-quarter gross written premiums rose 15.5% to £151m as income from its Gocompare website jumped 19% to £36.3m.

Chief executive Stuart Vann said he expected to increase Gocompare.com's full year pre-tax profits by 20%-30%.

Millennium & Copthorne was also firmer after reporting a small drop in first-quarter profit but an increase in group revenue.

Group revenue rose £3m to £192m thanks to higher property revenue, increased contribution from the real estate investment trust and a weaker pound sterling versus US dollar exchange rate compared to the same period last year.

Industrial engineering firm IMI pushed up after saying its full year expectations remained unchanged, with an improved performance predicted for the second half.

Henderson Group was the worst performer as the stock went ex-dividend.

Challenger bank Shawbrook was also on the back foot despite saying it grew profits 29% in the first quarter, while McCarthy & Stone was lower as Barclays initiated coverage of the stock at ‘equalweight’.

Support services and construction group Interserve was weaker after announcing that Steven Dance - executive director and managing director of equipment services – was retiring.

Risers

Tullow Oil (TLW) 259.00p 6.89%
Greggs (GRG) 1,109.00p 5.82%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 389.40p 3.84%
esure Group (ESUR) 275.90p 2.57%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 162.30p 2.40%
BGEO Group (BGEO) 2,304.00p 2.22%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 261.00p 2.19%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 447.30p 2.15%
IMI (IMI) 954.50p 2.09%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 281.20p 2.03%

Fallers

Henderson Group (HGG) 239.20p -3.55%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 282.30p -3.32%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 218.50p -2.89%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 277.10p -2.77%
SIG (SHI) 125.60p -2.48%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,539.00p -2.29%
Just Eat (JE.) 401.80p -2.00%
Interserve (IRV) 395.80p -1.96%
Supergroup (SGP) 1,223.00p -1.77%
Investec (INVP) 483.70p -1.75%