FTSE 250 movers: Stagecoach surges but Cineworld slumps on acquisition news
London's FTSE 250 was up 0.3% to 20,091.14 in afternoon trade on Wednesday amid reports of a breakthrough over the Brexit divorce bill.
Stagecoach rallied as it welcomed the planned “new direction” for the UK rail network, as announced by the Secretary of State for Transport as announced by the Secretary of State for Transport. The company said the Secretary of State's vision envisaged a number of changes to franchises currently operated by Stagecoach, as well as other routes, as part of plans to deliver improved integration between train and track.
Online grocery retailer Ocado racked up strong gains for the second day in a row after announcing on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with Groupe Casino to develop the Ocado Smart Platform in France.
Soft drinks maker Britvic fizzed higher as its full-year profit beat expectations and it lifted its full-year dividend per share by 8.2%.
Spire Healthcare got a shot in the as Berenberg upgraded its stance on the stock to 'buy' from 'hold' and lifted the price target to 310p from 270p on the back of new NHS data, which suggests the group "materially" outperformed the rest of the independent sector in NHS inpatients between July and September.
Going the other way, Cineworld tumbled after saying it's poised to make a $3.07bn (£2.3bn) offer for the second largest chain in the US, Regal Entertainment. Cineworld said it planned to fund the $23-per-share offer through new debt and by raising funds via a rights issue, which its 28% shareholder Global City Holdings has committed to a "full subscription".
Plastic products design and engineering company RPC Group was weaker despite reporting first-half revenue growth of 53% to £1.88bn.
Shipping services provider Clarksons retreated after saying its computer systems were accessed in a cyber security incident and that the person or persons behind it could release some data on Wednesday.
Software and services company Fidessa was trading lower as Stifel initiated coverage of the stock at 'sell' with a 2,054p price target, pointing to a number of headwinds.
Risers
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 179.20p 12.07%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 346.00p 11.76%
Britvic (BVIC) 812.00p 7.05%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 162.50p 5.52%
Greencore Group (GNC) 206.20p 4.78%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 246.90p 4.62%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 281.60p 3.87%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,202.00p 3.35%
Close Brothers Group (CBG) 1,385.00p 3.13%
Capita (CPI) 493.20p 3.09%
Fallers
Cineworld Group (CINE) 564.50p -18.72%
RPC Group (RPC) 914.00p -5.24%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 176.75p -4.92%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,009.00p -3.63%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 139.67p -3.28%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 243.40p -2.68%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,844.00p -2.40%
Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,456.00p -2.35%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 253.80p -2.27%
Ascential (ASCL) 358.00p -1.81%