FTSE 250 movers: Virgin Money rallies but Wizz flies lower
London's FTSE 250 was flat at 19,323.76 in afternoon trade.
Virgin Money was the best performer as it announced the launch of a new Manchester United double Champions bond. The new bond offers savers a competitive interest rate fixed for one year, with the rate rising to 3% if Man United win the Premier League and Emirates FA Cup next season.
It also responded to the Prudential Regulation Authority's statement on consumer credit, in which it gave lenders a deadline of September to prove they are adequately protected against consumer credit risks.
"We will continue to prioritise asset quality over balance growth in our credit card business and we look forward to updating the market when we publish our interim results on 25th July," it said.
Energy services company Hunting gushed higher after saying its performance in the first half benefited from the increase in onshore drilling in the US, particularly in the shale oil regions such as the Permian Basin in West Texas.
It said that growth in activity since the end of 2016 meant Hunting's perforating systems business reported results ahead of management's expectations.
On the downside, low-cost airline Wizz Air flew lower despite reporting a 23.6% jump in passenger numbers on the year in June to 2.49m and a rise in the load factor - which gauges how full the flights were - to 92.3% from 91.7%.
Risers
Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 285.20p 5.47%
Hunting (HTG) 512.00p 4.21%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 273.10p 3.06%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 160.90p 2.88%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 207.80p 2.47%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 470.80p 2.24%
Rank Group (RNK) 233.80p 2.10%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 695.50p 2.05%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,345.00p 2.01%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 90.30p 1.98%
Fallers
Sophos Group (SOPH) 438.00p -3.16%
Pennon Group (PNN) 811.00p -2.82%
Essentra (ESNT) 564.50p -2.08%
Coats Group (COA) 75.70p -2.01%
Sirius Minerals (SXX) 27.92p -1.79%
Redefine International (RDI) 38.41p -1.61%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 754.50p -1.57%
Electra Private Equity (ELTA) 1,724.00p -1.54%
Greggs (GRG) 1,054.00p -1.50%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,377.00p -1.33%