LONDON (ShareCast) - Pub group Punch Taverns was boosted by talk that private equity group CVC Capital Partners may be preparing a bid for the company. All Bar One and O’ Neills owner Mitchells and Butlers rises in sympathy.

Russia-focused oil producer Imperial Energy admitted that it has received another approach that could lead to an offer. Imperial's statement comes after press speculation suggested that another suitor, rumoured to be Chinese firm Sinopec, could table a rival offer.

An upgrade to ‘equal-weight’ from ‘underweight’ sends newspaper group Trinity Mirror higher, while packaging firm Mondi is lifted by a an upgrade to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ at Deutsche Bank.

Miner Aquarius Platinum falls back in line with lower prices for the precious metal. Platinum fell to a six-month low in London on concerns of reduced demand in the US and Germany for the metal to be used to make catalytic converters for cars.

Budget airline Easyjet slips back after Credit Suisse lowered its rating on the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘outperform’ with a target price reduced to 350p from 425p.

FTSE 250 - Risers
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 47.00p +16.05%
Imperial Energy Corporation (IEC) 1,170.00p +8.94%
Punch Taverns (PUB) 275.00p +6.80%
Trinity Mirror (TNI) 107.00p +6.47%
Yell Group (YELL) 77.75p +6.14%
Mondi (MNDI) 265.00p +6.00%
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 270.50p +5.87%
Johnston Press (JPR) 49.00p +5.38%
Mecom Group (MEC) 20.25p +5.19%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 106.75p +5.17%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Aquarius Platinum (AQP) 410.00p -10.19%
International Ferro Metals (IFL) 69.00p -7.38%
JKX Oil & Gas (JKX) 356.25p -6.06%
Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 277.25p -5.05%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 960.00p -4.86%
Aricom (ORE) 47.75p -4.50%
easyJet (EZJ) 315.75p -4.46%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,471.00p -4.23%
Randgold Resources (RRS) 2,440.00p -3.94%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 178.00p -3.78%

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