FTSE 250 movers: Qinetiq boosted by Berenberg note as Thomas Cook tanks
The FTSE 250 index was up around 0.50% on the day in which Chancellor Philip Hammond revealed his budget for the upcoming year.
Defence tech firm Qinetiq was one of the biggest risers on the index on the heels of a positive endorsement from analysts at Berenberg.
The German broker upgraded its recommendation to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ saying it saw an opportunity in the shares as a result of the "disproportionate" bearishness towards the wider defence sector.
In parallel, shares of mining groups Acacia Mining and Ferrexpo both pushed higher as gold prices surged.
International catering group SSP reported a rise in its full-year profits at the outset of trading, helping it to a place amongst the top performers in the session.
Looking towards the bottom end of the ledger, Thomas Cook was down 8% after it reported declining margins in its full-year results. A more competitive market for its Spanish packages unit was the chief trigger behind the rapid decline in its share price.
Stock in NewRiver was also soft on Tuesday even after offering an upbeat tone in its first half results, which saw its funds from operations rise 8% in the first six months of the year.
Nostrum Oil & Gas slumped following a downgrade to 'hold from broker Panmure Gordon.
FTSE 250 - Risers
Acacia Mining (ACA) 199.60p 9.67%
SSP Group (SSPG) 662.50p 9.14%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 219.30p 8.83%
Evraz (EVR) 297.40p 5.01%
Big Yellow Group (BYG) 812.50p 4.37%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 265.00p 4.08%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 172.20p 3.86%
Polymetal International (POLY) 931.50p 3.67%
Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,256.00p 3.54%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 489.90p 3.49%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 112.00p -7.97%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 340.80p -5.36%
BTG (BTG) 737.50p -4.35%
McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 162.30p -3.39%
SIG (SHI) 164.43p -2.76%
Dignity (DTY) 1,799.00p -2.18%
PayPoint (PAY) 923.50p -1.86%
Victrex plc (VCT) 2,555.00p -1.84%
Bellway (BWY) 3,506.00p -1.74%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,299.00p -1.59%