Sirius Minerals Share News (SXX)

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 was 0.18% lower at 19,934.32 in afternoon trade on Monday, driven lower by payments and foreign exchange solutions provider Finablr.

Mediclinic was lower after South Africa's Competition Commission proposed that a health regulator be introduced after it found that Mediclinic and the private healthcare sector's other top players had made it difficult for newcomers and smaller businesses to grow and to compete on merit.

Builders' merchant Travis Perkins was also lower after analysts at Jefferies cut the stock's price target from 1,457p to 1,400p.

SSP Group, which operates branded catering and retail units at airports and train stations, edged downwards following a price target cut from 710p to 680p by analysts at Canaccord, who also trimmed earnings per share forecasts by 1.9% to 30.2p for FY20 and by 2.2% to 33.6p for FY21.

The analysts said they expected the UK airports to suffer from the demise of Thomas Cook for the next six to nine months and from Brexit-related disruption, while business further afield could be affected by an escalation in the US/China trade dispute and ongoing disruption in India.

Up at the other end of the index, Sirius Minerals surged as it recovered some ground after having landed itself on a downward trajectory earlier in September when it pulled out of a vital bond sale, though the stock remains well short of the 10.29p per share value that it held at the beginning of the month.

Finally, emergency home repairs business Homeserve was boosted by an upgrade from 'sector perform' to 'outperform' by analysts at RBC Capital Markets.

Analysts said Homeserve was one of the best defensive growth stocks in the sector, offering multiple growth drivers over the next decade, including opportunities in the US heating, ventilation and air conditioning maintenance market.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,934.32 -0.18%


FTSE 250 - Risers

Sirius Minerals (SXX) 3.74p 28.54%
TI Fluid Systems (TIFS) 198.20p 3.23%
Cairn Energy (CNE) 193.40p 2.93%
Safestore Holdings (SAFE) 674.00p 2.28%
Senior (SNR) 189.90p 2.10%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 1,035.00p 1.97%
Essentra (ESNT) 423.80p 1.88%
Apax Global Alpha Limited (APAX) 151.70p 1.81%
Homeserve (HSV) 1,186.00p 1.80%
Kainos Group (KNOS) 453.00p 1.80%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Finablr (FIN) 156.68p -10.37%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 523.60p -7.33%
Marston's (MARS) 122.97p -5.99%
Mediclinic International (MDC) 328.80p -3.49%
Coats Group (COA) 74.15p -3.14%
Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,299.00p -2.81%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 213.10p -2.38%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 203.63p -2.38%
Clarkson (CKN) 2,415.00p -2.23%
SSP Group (SSPG) 622.00p -2.20%