London’s FTSE 250 was up 0.3% at 22,340.08 in afternoon trade on Wednesday.
QinetiQ surged as it said annual results are set to beat market expectations after a strong fourth quarter.
Tullow Oil was boosted by a rating upgrade at HSBC.
EasyJet flew higher as it said headline pre-tax losses for the first half are set to come in slightly better than analysts’ expectations thanks to cost-cutting, and that it anticipates a pick-up in passenger from late May. In an update on trading for the six months to the end of March, the budget airline said it now expects a headline pre-tax loss of between £690m and £730m.
Airtel Africa tumbled after an unnamed institutional seller sold a 1.3% stake in the telecommunications company in a placing. The seller placed 50m shares in Airtel at 75p each.
Babcock was also in the red, having surged more than 30% on Tuesday after a well-received update.
FTSE 250 – Risers
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 350.00p 8.79%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 48.25p 5.97%
Hammerson (HMSO) 38.46p 5.73%
easyJet (EZJ) 968.80p 5.06%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 392.50p 4.46%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 313.20p 3.77%
Ascential (ASCL) 355.40p 3.43%
Carnival (CCL) 1,717.60p 3.25%
FirstGroup (FGP) 92.90p 2.99%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 732.00p 2.95%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
Airtel Africa (AAF) 75.55p -11.44%
Softcat (SCT) 1,894.00p -3.71%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 474.20p -2.83%
Babcock International Group (BAB) 312.00p -2.57%
UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (CDI) (UDG) 820.50p -2.44%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 1,944.00p -2.33%
NCC Group (NCC) 285.50p -2.23%
Helios Towers (HTWS) 167.40p -2.22%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 501.00p -2.15%
BMO Global Smaller Companies (BGSC) 160.60p -2.07%
