LONDON (SHARECAST) - The merger proposal for UK water and waste management group Northumbrian Water from Hong Kong infrastructure group Cheung Kong failed to lift the FTSE 250, which was bogged down by growing fears of the Eurozone debt contagion spreading to Italy and Spain. Investors shunned riskier equity assets and took solace in safer assets like gold.
Also adding to the plunge in the index were shares of Laird, which tumbled more than 7% after U.S. based Cooper Industries threatened to walk away from merger talks at a time when the British company's investors were expecting a sweetened offer.
The on-going controversy surrounding Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and the News of the World that has resulted in the U.S. based company withdrawing its bid for British Sky Broadcasting Group has dragged peers lower. Shares of rival Daily Mail and General Trust, the owner of Daily Mail, slumped 5.5%.
FTSE 250 - Risers
Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) 448.70p +5.25%
Gem Diamonds Ltd. (DI) (GEMD) 251.40p +5.14%
Supergroup (SGP) 920.50p +3.78%
Pace (PIC) 112.30p +2.18%
Mitie Group (MTO) 241.20p +1.99%
Marston's (MARS) 107.00p +1.90%
Bankers Inv Trust (BNKR) 420.00p +1.20%
Synergy Health (SYR) 920.00p +1.15%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 138.30p +1.10%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 695.00p +1.02%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Laird (LRD) 189.10p -7.30%
Premier Foods (PFD) 17.58p -5.79%
Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) 448.80p -5.24%
Enterprise Inns (ETI) 60.00p -5.06%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 321.90p -4.71%
Bodycote (BOY) 360.00p -4.66%
Elementis (ELM) 176.70p -4.49%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 106.70p -4.48%
Betfair Group (BET) 651.50p -4.47%
International Personal Finance (IPF) 361.40p -4.44%
