FTSE 250 movers: Kingfisher surges on Q1 update; Aston Martin retreats

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 was down 0.6% at 6,168.73 in afternoon trade on Tuesday.
B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher surged as it posted a decline in first-quarter sales as it took a hit from the coronavirus lockdown but said sales improved at the start of May as stores reopened. Sales fell 24% at constant currency to ?2.2bn, with like-for-like sales down 24.8%.

Still, in the first week of May, sales were up 2.7% compared to a 74% slump in the first week of April, helped by store reopenings.

Kingfisher was also boosted by an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' at Morgan Stanley, as was Marks & Spencer. MS said that along with AB Foods, Kingfisher and Marks & Spencer were its new top picks in the retail sector.

"As forecast visibility improves,and valuation starts to drive share prices again, we think it will become clear that AB Foods, Kingfisher and M&S have become oversold," it said.

Serco was also on the rise as Peel Hunt lifted its recommendation on the stock to 'buy' from 'hold'.

"Given the essential nature of Serco's services, we anticipate it will quickly revert to 'business as usual' once restrictions are eased," it said.

Going the other way, Aston Martin lost ground as Peel Hunt downgraded its rating on shares of the luxury car maker to 'reduce' from 'hold' ahead of its first-quarter results on Wednesday.

The broker said it has updated its forecasts to reflect the recent rights issue and placing and also had a "first stab" at the potential impact of Covid-19 on performance this year.

Hammerson fell as FTSE 100 peer Land Securities slid after pulling its final dividend as full-year losses widened and asset values fell.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Kingfisher (KGF) 180.80p 11.30%
Pollen Street Secured Lending (PSSL) 654.00p 6.17%
PZ Cussons (PZC) 188.60p 5.36%
Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 92.16p 5.25%
Serco Group (SRP) 135.60p 4.55%
TP ICAP (TCAP) 371.60p 4.09%
PayPoint (PAY) 774.00p 4.03%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 2,792.00p 3.64%
Softcat (SCT) 1,216.00p 3.49%
Fisher (James) & Sons (FSJ) 1,264.00p 3.10%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Hyve Group (HYVE) 13.64p -16.83%
Bakkavor Group (BAKK) 71.20p -11.00%
Hammerson (HMSO) 47.61p -8.69%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 39.74p -7.80%
Capita (CPI) 32.30p -7.10%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 226.00p -7.07%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 204.60p -6.66%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 732.20p -6.56%
Vistry Group (VTY) 723.00p -6.35%
Beazley (BEZ) 358.60p -6.27%