FTSE 250 movers: TalkTalk can't walk the walk as Dairy Crest rides the wave
The FTSE 250 index was down 0.79% in afternoon trading on Wednesday as global markets saw a sea of red at the mid-point of the week.
Leading the march down was TalkTalk Telecom after the firm reported a strong rise in new customers during the first half, but at the cost of profits as it swung to a loss in comparison to the same period last year.
As a result, with dividends unceremoniously halved, the telecom firm was down more than 7% in the afternoon, as investors took little comfort from management assurances that the focus was on customer growth with profits a focus for future years.
It was a similar tale of investor impatience at housebuilder Crest Nicholson was also among the worst performers on Wednesday as analysts warned profits for the year may come in at the lower end of guidance, though with management confident in their "disciplined growth" strategy.
Oil stocks took a beating as well, as prices of the commodity fell during the session. Tullow Oil and Nostrum Oil & Gas were among those which were adversely affected by the drop of price in Brent crude.
On Wednesday's less densely populated gains side of the ledger, dairy products producer Dairy Crest was atop the pile after it received a ‘buy’ rating from brokers at Whitman Howard. Analysts upped their stance to 'buy' from 'hold' and set a price target at 680p.
Aerospace and defence contractor Cobham was also among the risers after it said its 2017 trading was generally in line with expectations.
Card Factory also pushed higher after it reported revenue growth of 6.7% in the first nine months of the year. Investec upgraded its rating to 'buy' on the solid third quarter performance, which "shows the business is on track to achieve full year expectations after a disappointing 1H18 update, when margin guidance was reduced due to FX and sales mix".
FTSE 250 - Risers
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 559.00p 2.47%
Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 136.50p 2.17%
International Public Partnerships Ltd. (INPP) 157.30p 2.08%
Cobham (COB) 129.50p 1.97%
Just Eat (JE.) 804.00p 1.97%
Evraz (EVR) 285.80p 1.89%
Card Factory (CARD) 283.50p 1.76%
Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 619.50p 1.72%
Provident Financial (PFG) 867.00p 1.70%
Royal Mail (RMG) 386.20p 0.81%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 175.80p -7.23%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 484.90p -6.57%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 172.10p -5.23%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 352.00p -4.74%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 374.70p -3.92%
Hunting (HTG) 491.50p -3.82%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 202.50p -3.62%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,417.00p -3.61%
Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 271.00p -3.56%
Ascential (ASCL) 347.30p -3.29%