FTSE 250 movers: Hays leads ahead of Q1 results

6th Oct 2014 14:34

Hays was rising ahead of its first-quarter results due out on Friday, which come after its chief in August said he felt confident that the company could reach its target of doubling operating profits to £250m.Just Retirement was lifted by Deutsche Bank, which upped its rating on the stock from 'hold' to 'buy', saying it thinks that the market has "completely misunderstood" the government's latest tax changes and that it sees "no material impact whatsoever" on the company. "And with value-protected annuities receiving the same tax benefits as pensions in drawdown, we think annuity sales might even gain," it added.Hochschild Mining and African Barrick Gold both moved lower as they tracked the price of gold south.Also in the red was UK meat producer and food supplier Cranswick, which is hoping for a decent performance over the festive season after lower sales of fresh pork led to flat revenues in the first half. The company, which also produces cooked meats, charcuterie and sandwiches, said that market conditions in the second half of its financial year "are expected to remain competitive", but a strong Christmas trading period is expected to help its third quarter.Dunelm Group was knocked lower by Citigroup, which cut its rating on the stock to 'neutral' from 'buy' and reduced its target price from 930p to 870p.FTSE 250 - RisersHays (HAS) 122.50p +5.69%Just Retirement Group (JRG) 125.10p +3.99%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 251.20p +3.80%Playtech (PTEC) 742.00p +3.20%Cairn Energy (CNE) 181.30p +3.19%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 190.30p +2.86%Polymetal International (POLY) 494.30p +2.85%Investec (INVP) 533.00p +2.80%Croda International (CRDA) 2,190.00p +2.58%Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 119.50p +2.58%FTSE 250 - FallersHochschild Mining (HOC) 120.30p -2.83%Cranswick (CWK) 1,296.00p -2.19%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 203.00p -1.60%Spirent Communications (SPT) 98.10p -1.36%Brit (BRIT) 239.70p -1.20%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 820.50p -1.03%Premier Farnell (PFL) 174.80p -1.02%Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,764.00p -1.01%Saga (SAGA) 160.40p -0.99%Synthomer (SYNT) 209.00p -0.90%