FTSE 250 movers: Tullow slumps as oil drops; Hastings gains on results

London’s FTSE 250 index was down 0.3% to 16,635.32 at 1410 GMT, tracking broader weakness in the market as oil prices declined and investors looked ahead to rate decisions this week from the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve.

Tullow Oil was the standout loser as oil prices slid after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries warned on Monday that supply was likely to be higher than expected this year. Iran’s decision not to join discussions about a production cap until its production reached 4m barrels a day also weighed.

West Texas Intermediate was down 2% to $36.44 a barrel and Brent crude dropped 1.7% to $38.86.

Steelmaker Evraz was also under the cosh after it said earnings fell by more than a third in 2015. Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell 38.9% from a year earlier to $1.44bn. The company blamed weaker commodity prices, partially offset by lower expenses in US dollar terms due to depreciation in the rouble.

Wood Group slumped after Canaccord Genuity cut its stance on the stock to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’, saying it was overvalued following the recent outperformance.

It said the company’s full year results were broadly in line with existing consensus and although the group did not provide any formal guidance, the outlook for this year remains reasonably positive, with earnings likely to be down no more than 25% despite the major industry downturn.

The brokerage said it was surprised to see the dividend lifted as much as 10%.

“On the current trajectory, payout will reach 53% (on adjusted diluted EPS) this year. After many years of above-sector dividend growth we think this source of performance is now exhausted,” it said.

Cairn Energy was in the red despite upping its resource estimate for the Senegal oilfield and posting a narrower 2015 pre-tax loss from continuing operations.

Insurer Hastings, which listed on the London Stock Exchange in October, racked up stellar gains after reporting a rise in full year gross written premiums and operating profit, and declaring its first dividend.

In the year to the end of December, gross written premiums were up 27% to £614.9m, net revenue rose 20% to £481m and group operating profit jumped to £126.1m from £105.7m in 2014.

Online grocery delivery firm Ocado was also in the black as it said group gross sales rose 15.3% in the 12 weeks to 21 February to £312.4m. Retail sales rose to £286.7m from £252m.

Average weekly orders were up 16.9% to 214,000, although the average order size fell to £111.41 from £114.72.

Risers

Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 171.40p 6.13%
Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 341.50p 4.31%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 254.80p 3.62%
Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 293.20p 3.13%
IP Group (IPO) 179.40p 3.10%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 333.20p 2.71%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 243.90p 2.57%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 268.00p 2.45%
DFS Furniture (DFS) 321.60p 2.16%
Aldermore Group (ALD) 216.30p 2.12%

Fallers

Tullow Oil (TLW) 195.30p -9.63%
Evraz (EVR) 85.95p -7.18%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 307.30p -6.45%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 858.50p -5.61%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 81.75p -4.61%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 623.50p -4.22%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 901.00p -3.33%
BGEO Group (BGEO) 1,900.00p -3.16%
Allied Minds (ALM) 363.30p -3.04%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 191.10p -2.90%