FTSE 250 movers: Wood Group gushes higher, William Hill tumbles

London's second-tier was 0.35% higher at 20,229.16 in afternoon trade on Monday, with John Wood Group, Hunting and Petrofac leading the index upward.

The energy services providers were in the green after tentative hopes for a Sino-US trade deal propelled oil prices higher.

Sucden Financial analyst Thomas Kujawa said that economic news towards the end of last week, such as growth in Chinese manufacturing activity and a strong set of US employment figures, had also contributed to a rise in the price of raw materials.

Retailer Pets at Home was lifted by an upgrade to 'buy' at Liberum, where analysts argued that management's decisive actions are delivering results.

"H1 reporting (26th Nov) should reassure that the momentum is continuing and the recent share price dip provides a good opportunity to buy ahead of this news. The shares have run strongly overall year to date, but we see upside as the market gains more confidence that earnings and free cash flow will positively inflect," said analysts.

Workspace operator IWG climbed after it entered a strategic partnership with the J. Safra Group and the P. Peress Group over its workspace business in Switzerland.

Man Group rose after analysts from Berenberg said the fund management business is well placed to benefit from secular growth in quantitative investment approaches and demand for alternative strategies.

Down at the other end of the index, William Hill, 888 Holdings, GVC Holdings, and Rank Group were all under the cosh amid news that a report released by a group of MPs suggested that online casinos should be subject to maximum stake limits similar to the £2 limits imposed on fixed-odds betting terminals.

Finally, HomeServe was lower after chairman Barry Gibson left the company to join GVC.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,229.16 0.35%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Wood Group (John) (WG.) 362.90p 7.53%
Hunting (HTG) 418.60p 4.08%
Softcat (SCT) 1,001.00p 4.05%
IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 387.50p 3.33%
Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 398.78p 3.12%
Pets at Home Group (PETS) 208.00p 3.07%
Investec (INVP) 456.60p 2.93%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 495.50p 2.69%
IWG (IWG) 393.20p 2.66%
Man Group (EMG) 149.25p 2.65%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

William Hill (WMH) 174.20p -13.68%
888 Holdings (888) 161.85p -10.08%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 809.80p -9.76%
Rank Group (RNK) 234.62p -4.43%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 296.01p -3.26%
Homeserve (HSV) 1,177.00p -2.89%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 531.00p -2.39%
Greggs (GRG) 1,764.00p -2.27%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,453.00p -2.22%
BMO Global Smaller Companies (BGSC) 136.22p -2.00%