FTSE 250 movers: Greggs on a roll, AJ Bell slips

London's FTSE 250 was up 1.04% at 19,326.34 in afternoon trade on Tuesday, with Greggs leading the charge as it exceeded expectations.

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings

117.60p

16:40 08/11/24

-2.00%

-2.40p

Polymetal International

215.00p

16:35 31/07/23

0.00%

0.00p

The baker was the top riser after it said that sales and underlying profits for 2019 will be "materially higher" than it had expected, helped by strong demand for its vegan sausage rolls.

Kate Heseltine, market analyst at Edison Investment Research, said: "As a result of the exceptional level of sales growth, management anticipates materially higher sales and underlying profits than its previous expectations. This is the fourth upgrade since late November, and testament to the company’s substantial progress with the brand transformation and savvy use of social media to engage with new and existing customers."

Metro Bank recovered a little from its long-running slump as The Times reported that the bank is in talks with institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds from the US, Europe and Asia in its search for a cornerstone investor in a £350m fundraising.

EI Group fizzed higher after the pub operator reported a rise in interim underlying pre-tax profit following strong drinks sales and announced its third share buyback programme of the year to date.

Precious metals miners Acacia Mining, Centamin and Polymetal all racked up solid gains as gold prices rose after US-China trade war panic sent investors flocking to the metal.

AJ Bell was the top faller, closely followed by Renishaw which tumbled as the metrology and healthcare technology group cut its full-year revenue and profit outlook for the second time in two months and said pre-tax profits for the nine months to-end March 2019 fell 18.8%.

Finally, Bank of Georgia was lower even as it reported that first quarter adjusted earnings rose 10.4%, aided by a strong domestic economy and despite termination payments to former executives, while Aston Martin Lagonda edged lower after analysts at Bank of America cut the stock's target price from 1,500p to 1,400p.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,326.34 1.04%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Greggs (GRG) 2,038.00p 13.85%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 518.89p 9.24%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,394.00p 8.74%
EI Group (EIG) 222.60p 6.00%
Kier Group (KIE) 337.84p 4.99%
Hunting (HTG) 567.00p 4.90%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 219.40p 4.78%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 154.70p 4.39%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 91.26p 4.13%
Polymetal International (POLY) 804.40p 4.12%