FTSE 250 movers: Ocado surges on M&S tie-up report; Just Eat slips
London's FTSE 250 was up 0.8% to 19,779.52 in afternoon trade.
Ocado shares surged following a report over the weekend that it could be eyeing a tie-up with Marks & Spencer, after chief executive Steve Rowe said last week that the retailer was considering options for a soft trial of food delivery in the autumn.
According to The Telegraph, Ocado and M&S are planning to begin talks in the coming weeks. It cited sources as saying that a review by new chief executive Steve Rowe was at a very early stage and the company was still considering a number of options, including partnering up with another operator or ditching the ideal altogether.
Nostrum Oil & Gas gushed higher as Peel Hunt initiated coverage of the stock at 'buy'.
UAE-based healthcare provider NMC Health gained ground after saying it expects an earnings boost from regulatory changes in Abu Dhabi.
Aberdeen Asset Management advanced as it posted a rise in first-half revenues as outflows slowed. ]
In the six months to the end of March, revenue was up 10.6% to £534.9m, boosted by markets and currencies, with underlying pre-tax profit 19.8% higher at £195.2m.
Underlying earnings per share rose 20% to 11.5p and the interim dividend was unchanged at 7.5p per share.
Asset under management at the end of March were £308.1bn, down from £312.1bn at the end of September, but outflows fell to £2.9bn in the second quarter from £10.5bn in the first.
On the downside, shares in online food delivery company Just Eat weren't looking very tasty after it reported a 46% jump in first-quarter revenue but a slowdown in total orders.
HICL Infrastructure was also on the back foot after announcing that it had reached agreement to acquire a 36.6% equity interest in the various entities that comprise the Affinity Water Group, including the regulated entity, Affinity Water Limited.
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 265.90p 5.94%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 466.90p 4.13%
esure Group (ESUR) 254.90p 4.04%
NMC Health (NMC) 2,067.00p 4.03%
Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) 289.70p 3.84%
Cobham (COB) 137.30p 3.62%
Bellway (BWY) 2,935.00p 3.13%
Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,078.00p 3.06%
Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,439.00p 3.04%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,994.00p 2.78%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Vedanta Resources (VED) 657.00p -4.99%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 244.70p -3.74%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 203.50p -3.05%
Ladbrokes Coral Group (LCL) 127.30p -2.75%
Just Eat (JE.) 562.00p -2.60%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 172.70p -2.37%
Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 309.80p -2.36%
HICL Infrastructure Company Ltd (HICL) 170.80p -2.01%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 190.40p -2.01%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 93.75p -1.99%