FTSE 250 movers: Travel shares take a hit; Kainos rallies

London’s FTSE 250 was down 0.3% at 17,206.50 in afternoon trade on Monday.

Travel stocks were under the cosh, with TUI, easyJet and cruise operator Carnival all weaker after budget airline Ryanair said a second wave of Covid in autumn was its "biggest fear right now" and as the UK government imposed a 14-day quarantine on travellers returning from Spain.

Going the other way, IT provider Kainos was sitting pretty at the top of the index as it announced a special dividend and said annual profit and revenue will be ahead of consensus expectations as trading from 1 April to date has been strong despite the impact of Covid-19.

The company said revenue for the year to the end of March will be "well ahead" of the prior year, while adjusted profit will be "substantially ahead".

Cairn Energy was also a high riser after agreeing the sale of its Senegal assets to Lukoil for $400m in cash and announcing plans for a special dividend of at least $250m.

Cairn said the deal is consistent with its "disciplined approach to portfolio management and capital allocation" and its long-term strategy to return capital to shareholders. It also said the sale will enhance its financial flexibility to sustain and grow a "balanced and robust portfolio" during current challenging and uncertain oil market conditions.

Gold miners Hochschild and Centamin were both sharply higher as gold prices surged to a fresh all-time high on worries about the pandemic and escalating tensions between the US and China.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Kainos Group (KNOS) 1,010.00p 22.13%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 134.00p 7.63%
Centrica (CNA) 49.65p 5.32%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 282.80p 5.29%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 207.90p 4.71%
Just Group (JUST) 47.20p 3.37%
Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 99.32p 3.35%
Serco Group (SRP) 161.20p 3.33%
Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 810.00p 3.18%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 290.40p 2.54%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 295.90p -12.87%
easyJet (EZJ) 529.80p -10.05%
Hammerson (HMSO) 65.20p -7.02%
Energean (ENOG) 542.00p -6.39%
Ascential (ASCL) 279.60p -6.24%
Trainline (TRN) 380.80p -5.98%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 284.20p -5.77%
Carnival (CCL) 901.60p -5.43%
Paragon Banking Group (PAG) 336.80p -5.13%
Shaftesbury (SHB) 466.00p -4.90%