FTSE 250 movers: Tullow and Weir limit losses

(ShareCast News) - The FTSE 250 pared earlier losses by Thursday afternoon, as a strong showing from Tullow Oil, Weir and other resources-related groups overcame the effect of ex-dividend day. Stocks going ex-divi on the day included Cobham, Elementis, Tullett Prebon and William Hill.Cobham was also upgraded by Deutsche Bank to 'hold' from 'sell' but while the bank said the concern about the company's balance sheet leverage has been eradicated, it still did not believe the share price offers a buying opportunity due to residual risks over 2016 guidance.Analysts still see some risk to 2016 numbers based on the material improvement needed in later quarters to reach full year guidance following the £26m underlying profit deterioration witnessed in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.High-performance polymer producer Victrex was down after a negative update about the sale of Invibio. The company announced it had entered into a consent decree with the US Federal Trade Commission, concerning an inquiry by the commission into the sale and marketing of implantable grade PEEK polymer in the US by its subsidiaries Invibio Inc and Invibio Ltd.The FTSE 250 firm said the consent decree has made clear Victrex has not admitted any violations of any law.But analysts at N+1Singer said: "The gist is that it stops them from entering into very long term contracts on an exclusive basis. It applies to all existing and future contracts, so in theory this helps the competition and so is negative for sentiment at least, if not earnings in the short term."Africa-focused Tullow Oil said first quarter production was slightly below expectations due to technical issues at the Jubilee field off Ghana, but agreed a $3.5bn deal with its lenders to extend its borrowing facilities.Barclays analysts said the extension of the loan facility would "comprehensively address remaining concerns about the balance sheet".The bank reiterated an 'overweight' rating and target price of 280p for Tullow after the oil producer reported a first-quarter trading update that showed group working interest production for the first quarter averaged 59,200 barrels per day for West Africa and 6,500 for Europe.Engineering firm Weir Group was another strong riser, reported trading that was "slightly ahead" of expectations in its first quarter on Thursday, saying cost reductions and a resilient performance from its minerals division underpinned that.Despite going ex-dividend, the engineer's shares benefitted from management's statement that the focus on "strong cash generation and aggressive cost reduction" had been maintained. Market MoversFTSE 100 (UKX) 6,270.25 -0.79%FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,997.62 -0.50%techMARK (TASX) 3,081.78 -0.64%FTSE 250 - RisersTullow Oil (TLW) 278.10p 10.66%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,214.00p 7.82%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 89.00p 3.49%NCC Group (NCC) 272.10p 2.68%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 111.20p 2.39%DFS Furniture (DFS) 304.00p 2.15%Cairn Energy (CNE) 228.30p 2.06%Sophos Group (SOPH) 212.50p 1.92%Telecom Plus (TEP) 980.00p 1.71%Carillion (CLLN) 298.20p 1.71%FTSE 250 - FallersCobham (COB) 164.10p -6.87%Victrex plc (VCT) 1,416.00p -6.72%IP Group (IPO) 179.20p -5.63%Indivior (INDV) 159.40p -5.34%Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 170.40p -5.12%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 342.50p -4.94%Elementis (ELM) 216.10p -4.84%William Hill (WMH) 311.80p -3.88%Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 465.00p -3.75%Ted Baker (TED) 2,479.00p -3.69%