FTSE 250 movers: Network Intl boosted by upgrade; Greencore falls

London’s FTSE 250 was up 0.4% at 16,296.25 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.

Network International was boosted by an upgrade to ‘overweight’ at Morgan Stanley.

Insurer Beazley advanced after saying it had raised £247m in a placing at 315p per share - a 4.9% discount to the closing share price on Monday - "to support ongoing organic growth".

Micro Focus was higher as its latest trading update was better than feared, with the company saying it expects first-half revenue to decline 11%, in line with the guidance given in February.

On the downside, convenience food company Greencore was in the red after saying that demand for its food-to-go categories was beginning to stabilise after a sharp decline due to the coronavirus outbreak, as it announced it was cancelling its final dividend.

Weekly demand in the food-to-go categories slumped by up to 70% and is currently less than 60% below prior year levels. Still, the company noted “sustained growth” in its other convenience categories, in particular cooking sauces, with growth currently about 5% above prior year levels.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Hyve Group (HYVE) 14.56p 11.31%
BMO Commercial Property Trust Limited (BCPT) 63.00p 8.81%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 412.40p 7.68%
UDG Healthcare Public Limited Company (UDG) 671.00p 7.62%
Beazley (BEZ) 356.00p 7.42%
PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,140.00p 7.04%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 118.30p 6.96%
Elementis (ELM) 63.25p 6.48%
Hammerson (HMSO) 62.64p 6.24%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 443.90p 5.19%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

PureTech Health (PRTC) 230.50p -7.62%
Greencore Group (GNC) 140.40p -7.08%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 83.00p -5.03%
National Express Group (NEX) 201.60p -4.45%
Kingfisher (KGF) 164.10p -4.45%
Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 135.60p -4.10%
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 127.20p -4.07%
The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) 122.40p -3.92%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 69.50p -3.47%
Aggreko (AGK) 464.80p -3.21%