FTSE 250 movers: Plus500 climbs, TalkTalk dialed down
London's FTSE 250 index was 0.86% higher at 18,071.04 in afternoon trade on Friday, as online trading services provider Plus500 dragged the index higher.
African Shell licensee Vivo Energy rose along with oilers Tullow Oil and Premier Oil on news that Saudi Arabia will continue to ignore President Donald Trump's tolerance threshold for rising oil prices.
The latter's rise came a day after it announced the completion of the $65.6m sale of Premier Oil Pakistan Holdings, which comprises its Pakistan business, to Al-Haj Energy.
Hedge fund manager Man Group climbed after Credit Suisse started coverage of the stock with an 'outperform' rating and 180p target price.
A Credit Suisse note quoted by the Financial Times said: "Its differentiated products should provide better net new money generation, better relative performance across market conditions and better defence against margin competition than traditional asset managers. Man has returned 50 per cent of its market capitalisation in the past five years and we think consensus is too conservative on first-quarter performance and future buyback assumptions."
Jupiter Fund Management was on the rise after UBS analysts raised the stock to 'neutral' from 'sell', also bumping the target price up from 300p to 355p.
TalkTalk was the top riser on news that it has struck a deal with Ofcom, along with BT, Sky, Virgin Media and Zen Internet, that will see customers automatically compensated for poor service or missed appointments from Monday 1 April.
Budget airline Wizz Air dipped after chief executive Jozsef Varadi sold 72,000 shares in the company on the 28 March at a price of 3020.18p, while Saga was lower ahead of the release of its full-year results next week.
Finally, challenger bank Metro Bank edged lower after experiencing "technical issues" with services including its mobile app, online banking platform and telephone banking services, with customers instructed to come instore if they required services.
Market Movers
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,071.04 0.86%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 754.00p 4.87%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 123.38p 4.49%
Man Group (EMG) 136.50p 4.36%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 362.00p 4.29%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 648.00p 4.28%
Ascential (ASCL) 356.80p 4.21%
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) 439.60p 3.68%
Sanne Group (SNN) 543.00p 3.43%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 237.80p 3.39%
Premier Oil (PMO) 93.60p 3.37%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 109.30p -1.97%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,360.00p -1.87%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,012.00p -1.63%
Victrex plc (VCT) 2,146.00p -1.47%
Kier Group (KIE) 357.83p -1.26%
Saga (SAGA) 111.70p -1.24%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 492.00p -1.18%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 5,860.00p -1.18%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 867.64p -1.18%
Metro Bank (MTRO) 758.00p -1.11%