London’s FTSE 250 was down 0.4% at 22,965.22 in afternoon trade on Thursday.
Countryside Properties tanked as it announced the departure of its chief executive and said first-quarter trading had been below the board’s expectations.
Marks & Spencer fell even as the food and clothing retailer said it now expects annual profits of at least £500m after strong Christmas sales driven by outperformance in its food range.
Wood Group surged to the top of the index as the consulting and engineering company said it was selling its built environment division after a review and reported a fall in core profit.
Doorstep lender Provident Financial gained after it said it had traded above expectations in the fourth quarter and announced a restructuring of the Vanquis board.
IP Group was in the black as it hailed “another highly successful year” and said group profit for 2021 was set to be above £425m, up from £185.4m in 2020.
FTSE 250 – Risers
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 242.00p 21.49%
Provident Financial (PFG) 367.00p 4.50%
IP Group (IPO) 114.40p 4.19%
Carnival (CCL) 1,518.20p 3.89%
Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 305.90p 3.69%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 276.40p 3.44%
Weir Group (WEIR) 1,882.50p 3.09%
Domino’s Pizza Group (DOM) 437.60p 2.92%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 2,370.00p 2.60%
Beazley (BEZ) 484.00p 2.41%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
Countryside Properties (CSP) 316.00p -23.26%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 236.60p -6.48%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 8,825.00p -4.95%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 437.20p -3.47%
Genus (GNS) 4,234.00p -3.47%
Ashmore Group (ASHM) 288.60p -2.89%
Reach (RCH) 269.00p -2.89%
Diploma (DPLM) 3,002.00p -2.72%
Currys (CURY) 113.00p -2.67%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,617.00p -2.65%
