FTSE 250 movers: Mitie surges on upgraded guidance; Lancashire hit by downgrade

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 was 0.4% lower at 21,968.86 in afternoon trade on Tuesday. Mitie surged to the top of the index after lifting its full-year profit guidance.

THG was also higher as it confirmed full-year guidance after strong demand for beauty advent calendars and an improving performance Stateside boosted third-quarter numbers.

Bellway gained as the housebuilder announced the launch of a £150m share buyback and reported a jump in full-year profit and revenue as completions grew despite "ongoing challenges" for the industry.

Ashmore and Ninety One were also in the black after updates.

On the downside, Bytes Technology tumbled as it said interim operating profit fell 7% in a "challenging economic climate".

Morgan Advanced Materials also slid as it warned full-year sales would be around 4% lower than the prior year as demand in semiconductor markets has remained weak.

Lancashire Holdings was knocked lower by a downgrade to 'underperform' from 'outperform' at RBC Capital Markets, which slashed the price target to 600p from 750p as it argued that consensus was at risk.

"Diversification has increased materially since the last down cycle, but we would still characterise the book as more exposed to big ticket risks than the other London Market insurers," the bank said.

"We forecast a bigger decline in volumes than at peers, albeit with margins likely to be supported in part by lower retro and reinsurance costs, being a bigger buyer of cover than the rest of our coverage."

FTSE 250 - Risers

Mitie Group (MTO) 153.40p 10.36% THG (THG) 39.76p 6.25% Bellway (BWY) 2,614.00p 5.49% Hochschild Mining (HOC) 407.60p 5.43% Ashmore Group (ASHM) 186.00p 3.28% Endeavour Mining (EDV) 3,492.00p 1.63% BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 403.50p 1.51% Ninety One (N91) 217.00p 1.50% Currys (CURY) 144.00p 1.41% Rank Group (RNK) 129.20p 1.25%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 372.20p -9.66% Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 202.00p -7.55% TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 4,245.00p -5.88% Volution Group (FAN) 648.00p -5.40% Fidelity China Special Situations (FCSS) 311.50p -4.30% Future (FUTR) 628.50p -4.12% Oxford Biomedica (OXB) 621.00p -4.02% Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 656.00p -3.95% Vesuvius (VSVS) 361.40p -3.88% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 182.60p -3.59%