(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 was up by 0.10% to 19,698.97 in afternoon trading on Tuesday, with Cairn Energy leading the index higher.
The oil and gas explorer and developer surged after saying it swung to a profit in the first half on higher oil and gas output and upgraded its full-year production forecasts.
Galliford Try jumped on the news that it is back in talks with Bovis Homes over a potential merger after the latter company made a £1.1bn bid for Galliford's housing business, Linden Homes.
David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets, said: "Should the deal get approval, it was would give Galliford a cash injection of £300m. The house building section is not a major part of Galliford's business, and the cash would beef up its balance sheet, and it would help the group focus on its core business - which has been common place in the civil engineering and support services sector."
Food manufacturing company Bakkavor climbed as it reported a strong performance from its international business, though it recorded a drop in first-half pre-tax profit as trading in the UK remained challenging.
Intu Properties continued to rise on the back of The Sunday Times' report that Orion Capital Managers was in early stage talks with partners to acquire the shopping centre operator.
On the downside, IP Group led the index's fallers as it reported a fall in first-half net asset value amid "challenging" conditions for the sector.
Analysts at Berenberg said the intellectual property commercialisation company had made encouraging gains on important assets despite a "very modest" decline in net asset value, adding that they saw near-term catalysts that could drive a meaningful NAV increase, restore investor optimism and prompt the stock to re-rate towards its historical levels.
Antivirus software providers Avast and Sophos were both lower as European markets tracked an overnight drop in the US software sector.
Finally, Sanne Group was also on the way down after reporting that its interim profits more than halved as one-off costs and investment in new employees outweighed double-digit revenue growth.
Market Movers
FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,698.97 0.10%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Cairn Energy (CNE) 199.00p 12.24%
Galliford Try (GFRD) 668.50p 8.70%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 427.30p 8.37%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 114.20p 6.33%
Hammerson (HMSO) 261.10p 5.79%
OneSavings Bank (OSB) 348.20p 4.82%
Charter Court Financial Services Group (CCFS) 286.00p 4.57%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 4,930.00p 4.56%
Intu Properties (INTU) 42.13p 4.49%
Premier Oil (PMO) 88.74p 4.40%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
IP Group (IPO) 62.50p -10.07%
Network International Holdings (NETW) 549.00p -5.18%
Avast (AVST) 356.40p -4.60%
Sophos Group (SOPH) 374.50p -4.32%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 553.60p -4.25%
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 105.80p -4.17%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 2,832.39p -3.99%
Sanne Group (SNN) 550.00p -3.85%
Games Workshop Group (GAW) 4,434.00p -3.69%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 134.30p -3.38%
19 Oct 2018 12:05
LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Stocks Mixed As Italy Concerns Cast Shadow
LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks in London were mixed at middy on Friday with the FTSE 100 higher as the pound remained around the USD1.30 mark, while weak Chinese data and concerns over Italy's a
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