FTSE 250 movers: Home Retail boosted by Argos sales

19th Jun 2012 15:51

Shares in Home Retail Group leapt after Argos sales held up in the first quarter, delighting investors who expected them to be hit by bad weather. The stock jumped nearly 24% after Argos revenues came in at £819m for the quarter, down 0.2% on a like-for-like basis. The City consensus was for a 4% fall in like-for-like sales in the three months to the start of June after the wettest April in 100 years. Fellow retailer Dixons was on the up after Bank of America upgraded the stock to 'neutral'. ?? Engineering and construction group Kentz rose strongly after it said it was on track to hit its revised targets as its backlog of work continued to grow.At the end of May 2012 that backlog had grown to $2.5bn, up from $2.46bn in April. ?? Meanwhile, military counter-measures specialist Chemring was a heavy faller after saying that global defence markets continue to be uncertain, with budget cuts in all NATO countries. Nevertheless, it remains confident of a strong second half and meeting full-year expectations. FTSE 250 - RisersHome Retail Group (HOME) 94.05p +26.50%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 15.23p +11.99%Kentz Corporation Ltd. (KENZ) 362.50p +11.54%Carpetright (CPR) 731.50p +7.49%Halma (HLMA) 401.40p +5.44%Essar Energy (ESSR) 120.00p +4.62%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 124.10p +4.37%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 130.50p +4.23%Sports Direct International (SPD) 304.20p +4.18%Savills (SVS) 347.70p +4.16%FTSE 250 - FallersChemring Group (CHG) 292.30p -9.62%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 454.90p -6.36%Bumi (BUMI) 342.00p -4.68%Domino Printing Sciences (DNO) 552.00p -2.30%AZ Electronic Materials SA (DI) (AZEM) 290.80p -1.86%Man Group (EMG) 73.20p -1.61%Galliford Try (GFRD) 580.50p -1.36%NMC Health (NMC) 199.90p -1.28%Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC) 200.80p -1.28%Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 414.90p -1.21%NR