London’s FTSE 250 was up 0.7% at 23,764.67 in afternoon trade on Friday.
Marks & Spencer rallied after saying it expected annual profits to be at the top end of expectations as it reported a sharp rise in revenues during the summer.
Assuming no further Covid-related restrictions on trading, M&S forecast adjusted profit before tax for the year to be above the upper end of previous guidance of £300m – £350m. Group revenue surged 29.1% in the 19 weeks to August 14 and was 4.4% higher than 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic struck and forced the closure of the retailer’s stores.
Morrisons also gained after agreeing a £7bn takeover by US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. A consortium led by Fortress Group said it was “considering its options” after its own takeover offer was trumped by CD&R.
Aerospace and defence engineer Babcock was a high riser after an upgrade to ‘overweight’ from ‘equalweight’ at Morgan Stanley, which said the shares offer “significant value”.
FTSE 250 – Risers
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 160.80p 12.68%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 291.70p 4.48%
Premier Foods (PFD) 113.60p 4.22%
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 1,524.50p 3.22%
Elementis (ELM) 147.60p 3.07%
Genuit Group (GEN) 728.00p 2.97%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 355.30p 2.90%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 1,002.00p 2.87%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 293.80p 2.23%
Genus (GNS) 6,080.00p 2.18%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
Trainline (TRN) 344.40p -3.58%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 4,855.00p -3.06%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 367.60p -2.78%
Avon Protection (AVON) 1,897.00p -2.52%
Rank Group (RNK) 171.00p -2.29%
Drax Group (DRX) 414.40p -2.22%
Pantheon International (PIN) 2,700.00p -2.17%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 355.80p -1.98%
Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 673.00p -1.90%
C&C Group (CDI) (CCR) 244.60p -1.77%
