FTSE 250 movers: Provident Financial falls, Indivior surges

London's FTSE 250 was down 0.26% at 19,317.71 in afternoon trade on Wednesday, with Provident Financial leading the way lower ahead of the release of its first quarter trading update next week.

Following suit, British manufacturer TI Fluid Systems slid after it saw group revenues fall back in the first quarter of its trading year, mainly due to the underperformance of its North American operations.

Analysts at Peel Hunt said the company had put in a solid performance against a tough market backdrop in which global auto production fell by 6.7%, prompting the analyst to leave its forecasts for the full-year unchanged.

Engineered ceramics outfit Vesuvius was also in the red as it said the slowdown in growth since the fourth quarter of 2018 continued throughout the first quarter of this year.

At the other end of the pitch, Indivior's share price shot upwards as the anti opioid addiction drug developer revealed that three of its directors had been buying up the stock, fueling investor confidence in the company.

Metro Bank continued to climb after The Times reported earlier in the week that the bank is in talks with institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds from the US, Europe and Asia in search of a cornerstone investor for a £350m fundraising.

However, analysts at Berenberg cut their target price for challenger bank in half on Wednesday, slashing it from 1,200p down to 600p, saying the outfit was suffering from "acute uncertainty" pending completion of its £350m planned capital raise.

Finally, CYBG advanced as it said it swung to a first-half pre-tax profit following the acquisition of Virgin Money, while over 50's specialist Saga climbed the day after confirming that its first ever purpose-built cruise ship begun trials, while also reporting that its new three-year fixed price insurance product has enjoyed "a positive reception".

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,317.71 -0.26%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Indivior (INDV) 50.98p 12.66%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 605.40p 6.92%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 541.00p 6.50%
CYBG (CYBG) 199.70p 4.42%
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 260.00p 4.00%
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 460.00p 3.60%
Saga (SAGA) 55.70p 2.48%
Contour Global (GLO) 204.50p 2.25%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 156.33p 2.18%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 877.37p 2.14%