UK small caps rise 0.3 percent in midsession deals, tracking closelya 0.4 percent rise on the FTSE 250 and the blue chips.
Thomas Cook extends recent gains, up 11.3 percent, as investmentbanks and brokers continue to raise estimates for the recovering travel firmafter the company laid out plans to boost proifts on Wednesday.
Six out of 19 analysts have revised earnings estimates upwards by an average of 31.8 percent, accroding to Thomson Reuters Starmine data.
Van rental company Northgate falls 12.3 percent after warning itsbusiness for the year ending April was trading towards the lower end of marketexpectations as economic turmoil in Spain and difficult conditions in the UKmeant the company rented out fewer vehicles.
"We are maintaining our cautious 2013 forecast assumptions, but willprobably downgrade our 2014 assumptions given increased levels of disposals,some impact from depreciation as well as ongoing softness in Spain," PanmureGordon says in a note, maintaining its "sell" recommendation.
Reuters messaging rm://david.brett.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net