Firstgroup Share News (FGP)

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 was down by 0.07% at 20,395.26 in afternoon trading on Tuesday, with Electrocomponents leading the index lower.
The industrial electronics distributor was lower as it reported a 4.3% drop in first-half pre-tax profit, though the company hiked its dividend and said it was "well positioned" to deliver good progress.

CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "Overall, it was a respectable set of numbers. At the back end of last week, the stock hit a 13 month high, so it would appear that today's sharp move lower is on account of profit taking."

Shares in B&M European Value Retail was in the red after saying it will undertake a strategic review to determine the future of its German business, Jawoll, as it posted a 71% drop in first-half pre-tax profit.

Trainline slumped after a group of investors led by shareholder KKR sold their shares in the rail booking company, while insurer Beazley dropped after analysts from UBS cut the stock's price target from 650.0p to 630.0p.

Up at the other end of the index, Oxford Instruments rallied as it reported a surge in interim profits following growth across each of its sectors, leading the company to hike its dividend by 8%.

Shore Capital analysts said: "Despite the backdrop of uncertain macroeconomic conditions Oxford has delivered a very strong performance however, underlying order growth has been impacted by softer end markers and phasing of OEM orders."

Finally, Pennon Group climbed after analysts at HSBC hiked their price target for the stock from 890p to 950p and FirstGroup followed close behind ahead of the release of its interim results later in the week.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,395.26 -0.07%


FTSE 250 - Risers

Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,470.00p 6.99%
Drax Group (DRX) 298.00p 6.05%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 282.60p 4.98%
Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 1,499.00p 3.74%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 560.00p 3.70%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 5,040.00p 3.17%
Pennon Group (PNN) 917.40p 2.87%
FirstGroup (FGP) 131.80p 2.81%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 133.35p 2.77%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 719.00p 2.64%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Electrocomponents (ECM) 626.80p -11.22%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 356.00p -5.82%
Trainline (TRN) 420.00p -4.98%
Diploma (DPLM) 1,633.00p -3.54%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 5,309.97p -3.10%
Beazley (BEZ) 527.50p -3.03%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 216.50p -2.91%
Softcat (SCT) 1,094.09p -2.83%
Balfour Beatty (BBY) 230.00p -2.46%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 183.85p -2.44%