Virgin Money UK was at the bottom of the pile on the second-tier index on Tuesday amid reports out of Israel that Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine could be a bit less effective at defending against infection from the so-called Delta variant.
The potential impact – even if slight – on timelines for reopening economies around the world weighed heavily on longer-term government debt yields.
By the end of trading, that on the benchmark 10-year Gilt had given back eight basis points to 0.64%.
Shares of other companies highly exposed to potential setbacks on the pandemic front also came under selling pressures, including those of Meggitt, Cineworld or IWG.
Tullow Oil was another big faller on the FTSE 250 tracking a 3.3% drop in front dated Brent crude oil futures to $74.56.
Overnight, a meeting of OPEC+ ministers had ended in an unusually acrimonious fashion after Saudi and the United Arab Emirates failed to bridge their differences over a proposed increase in the group’s combined oil production.
In the very near-term, said analysts, that might stymie plans to increase supply in order to accommodate the expected snap back in demand as the global economy reopened.
Longer-term however, dissent among OPEC+ members might have just the opposite effect it was thought, as countries broke ranks and breached their production quotas.
FTSE 250 – Risers
Auction Technology Group (ATG) 1,188.00p 2.77%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 1,000.00p 1.99%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 258.50p 1.97%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 4,480.00p 1.96%
Drax Group (DRX) 430.00p 1.85%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,532.00p 1.79%
Rank Group (RNK) 185.20p 1.76%
Man Group (EMG) 188.20p 1.73%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,420.00p 1.68%
Beazley (BEZ) 342.50p 1.60%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 194.35p -5.15%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 57.48p -4.39%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 315.00p -3.67%
Meggitt (MGGT) 456.80p -3.59%
Just Group (JUST) 94.35p -3.58%
Elementis (ELM) 151.70p -3.56%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 84.44p -3.48%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 537.50p -3.41%
IWG (IWG) 316.10p -3.24%
XP Power Ltd. (DI) (XPP) 5,530.00p -2.81%
