FTSE 250 movers: Drax surges, Homeserve falls

London's FTSE 250 was up 0.27% at 19,399.63 in afternoon trade on Friday, with Drax Group leading the index higher.

The power generation company's shares jumped after Reuters reported that the European Commission will give the green light for British power companies to receive a total of roughly £1bn in order to generate extra power during outages.

The payments had previously been delayed after a court in Luxembourg ordered the commission to ensure that UK British mechanisms to reimburse companies for making electricity available at short notice were compliant with regulations.

Down at the other end of the index, Homeserve was the top faller, while Marks & Spencer was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'reduce' at HSBC.

Precious metals miner Hochschild Mining was also lower after gold prices fell.

Insurer Direct Line was under pressure after the Financial Conduct Authority outlined a series of measures to address competition issues in the UK home and motor insurance market, pointing out that around 6m customers are paying high prices and not getting a good deal.

Analysts from JPMorgan said: "It is now clear that the FCA is looking to intervene in some form, and therefore the structure of the industry is likely to change. We believe home insurance sees the greatest cross subsidy between new and existing customers, but motor may also be affected."

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,399.63 0.27%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Drax Group (DRX) 275.60p 9.80%
PureTech Health (PRTC) 248.00p 2.90%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 837.50p 2.89%
Premier Oil (PMO) 75.13p 2.83%
Sanne Group (SNN) 518.00p 2.57%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,065.00p 2.50%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 185.39p 2.48%
Murray International Trust (MYI) 1,178.00p 2.43%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 118.20p 2.43%
AJ Bell (AJB) 388.00p 2.37%