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(Sharecast News) - Energy and Financials paced gains on the second-tier index on Wednesday as investors continued to shift towards cyclicals after Pfizer and BioNTech announced two days before a greater than 90% efficacy for the Covid-19 vaccine.
For some observers, such high degrees of efficacy could open the door to achieving herd immunity in populations and pave the way for a full reopening of economies.
Tied to that news, front month Brent crude oil futures were adding 1.83% to $44.41 a barrel on ICE.
In their wake, James Fisher&Sons, the specialist marine services outfit, and Energean, the Mediterranean-focused oil explorer were both near the top of the leaderboard.
Financials including Investec, Capita, Virgin Money UK and CMC Markets UK were all well bid alongside.
Airtel Africa was also outperforming, with its shares trading just off their record highs.
UDG Healthcare was also wanted, after RBC upgraded the shares to 'outperform', with the analysts citing the stock's recent underperformance versus peers' as the key rationale for their decision.
"The 20%-plus underperformance of UDG vs its peers, the prospect of two years of mid-teens earnings growth, and its strong balance sheet leads us to increase our price target to 880p (11.7x EBITDA, based on a SOP approach), from 800p, and move to an Outperform rating, from Sector Perform."
Going the other way, Meggitt was lower after analysts at SocGen downgraded their recommendation for the stock to 'sell'.
The day before, the engineer had reinstated its full-year 2020 guidance, a move which the broker labelled "encouraging".
However, while the improvement in its full year cash flow should alleviate concerns around its balance sheet, "the EBIT guidance range is wide".
"Although a COVID-19 vaccine could accelerate the civil spares recovery, we think new aircraft deliveries are unlikely to reach the pre-COVID levels for quite some time," it said.
SocGen had a 309.0p target price on the shares, up from 306.0p before.
Market Movers
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,355.62 1.72%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Quilter (QLT) 138.85p 0.00%
VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 352.50p 0.00%
Scottish Inv Trust (SCIN) 735.00p 0.00%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 459.20p 0.00%
Sabre Insurance Group (SBRE) 248.00p 0.00%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 472.20p 0.00%
Fidelity Special Values (FSV) 211.00p 0.00%
Alternative Credit Investments (ACI) 880.00p 0.00%
TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 381.00p 0.00%
Bodycote (BOY) 763.00p 0.00%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Quilter (QLT) 138.85p 0.00%
VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd. (VOF) 352.50p 0.00%
Scottish Inv Trust (SCIN) 735.00p 0.00%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 459.20p 0.00%
Sabre Insurance Group (SBRE) 248.00p 0.00%
Vesuvius (VSVS) 472.20p 0.00%
Fidelity Special Values (FSV) 211.00p 0.00%
Alternative Credit Investments (ACI) 880.00p 0.00%
TR Property Inv Trust (TRY) 381.00p 0.00%
Bodycote (BOY) 763.00p 0.00%
3 Apr 2024 16:49
IN BRIEF: Airtel Africa Director Mittal buys shares for GBP1.2 million
Airtel Africa PLC - Africa-focused telecommunications firm - Director Shravin Bharti Mittal buys shares via Indian Continent Investment Ltd. Buys 1.1 million shares at around GBP1.06 each on Thursday for a total of GBP1.2 million.
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