London’s FTSE 250 was up 0.3% at 23,616.87 in afternoon trade on Monday.
CMC Markets surged after the online financial trading group confirmed it was looking at a possible separation of its leveraged and non-leveraged divisions in order to unlock shareholder value. The shares were also underpinned by an upgrade to ‘buy’ at Jefferies.
Cineworld jumped after it said box office and concession revenues in October were at 90% of pre-Covid levels as “an excellent slate of films” drove a recovery.
Ascential was also higher after announcing the acquisition of WhyteSpyder, an e-commerce software and digital merchandising business which helps brands succeed on Walmart’s digital marketplace, for an undisclosed sum. The company also said both editions of its Money20/20 event rebounded strongly this year.
Government outsourcer Serco rallied as it lifted profits guidance after better-than-expected trading in Australia and the UK from Covid-related work.
Going the other way, IT provider Kainos slumped even as it reported a jump in first-half profit and revenue amid “robust” market demand.
FTSE 250 – Risers
CMC Markets (CMCX) 279.50p 7.92%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 67.64p 7.57%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 327.10p 6.06%
AO World (AO.) 136.30p 5.50%
Ascential (ASCL) 439.00p 4.52%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 177.10p 3.66%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 198.75p 3.57%
Just Group (JUST) 90.40p 3.20%
Serco Group (SRP) 134.30p 2.68%
Volution Group (FAN) 533.00p 2.50%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,867.00p -9.02%
Domino’s Pizza Group (DOM) 361.80p -5.19%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,620.00p -2.85%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 278.60p -2.79%
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 1,316.00p -2.37%
Grafton Group Ut (CDI) (GFTU) 1,241.00p -2.28%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,790.00p -2.08%
Discoverie Group (DSCV) 999.00p -2.06%
888 Holdings (888) 350.40p -2.01%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 297.40p -1.98%
