FTSE 250 movers: Wizz gains on Monarch collapse, Nex slumps

London's FTSE 250 was up 0.3% to 19,938.02 in afternoon trade on Monday.

Budget carrier Wizz Air was the standout gainer, benefiting from the collapse of rival Monarch Airlines.

Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, said: "Usually what’s bad for one airline - higher fuel costs, terror attacks, air traffic control strikes - are bad for the sector. Shares in the various players have a tendency to track each other with some consistency.

"But the failure of Monarch is good news for rivals. No doubt this takes the heat off Ryanair but it has wider implications. The third airline failure this year in Europe, after Alitalia and Air Berlin, is a symptom of over-capacity and overly-aggressive pricing."

Housebuilders were on the front foot, with Redrow, Crest Nicholson and Bellway all higher after PM Theresa May said the government will find an extra £10bn for the Help to Buy scheme to let another 135,000 people get on the property ladder.

Electrocomponents was higher ahead of a trading update on Tuesday.

Going the other way, Nex Group was under pressure after the electronic trading services provider warned that first-half profit margins will be hit by increased investment in its Optimisations business and ongoing low volatility on its Reset business.

Temporary power provider Aggreko was hit by as downgrade to 'sell' from 'hold' at Berenberg, which cut its price target to 770p from 800p, saying the latest re-rating was unjustified. Berenberg noted that the stock has re-rated by 12% since mid-August, most likely driven by an expected cyclical upswing in the US as the company benefits from the recovery and rebuild efforts in the aftermath of recent hurricanes.

"This re-rating is unjustified, in our view, and we think any cyclical recovery in the group’s North America business will be temporary and offset by disappointment elsewhere," it said.

Risers

Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,975.00p 3.98%
Electrocomponents (ECM) 639.50p 2.98%
Redrow (RDW) 607.50p 2.53%
Just Eat (JE.) 684.50p 2.39%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 566.00p 2.35%
Card Factory (CARD) 315.30p 2.34%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 693.00p 2.29%
Bellway (BWY) 3,364.00p 2.03%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 122.70p 2.00%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,916.00p 1.92%

Fallers

Nex Group (NXG) 620.50p -6.27%
Greencore Group (GNC) 184.70p -5.86%
Aggreko (AGK) 901.50p -3.99%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 222.90p -2.88%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 186.20p -2.77%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,617.00p -2.59%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 1,228.00p -2.15%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 182.10p -2.15%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 241.60p -2.15%
AA (AA.) 165.90p -2.12%