FTSE 250 movers: Ocado up as rumours escalate; Dialight drops

11th Jun 2013 15:10

Online grocer Ocado was extending its recent gains on Tuesday, continuing to set new all-time highs, as speculation over potential contracts and M&A activity continue to do the rounds. The stock has rocketed since the start of the year after the company signed a deal with Morrison to help the supermarket giant develop an online shopping channel.The Daily Mail today reported rumours that department store Marks & Spencer could "gatecrash the online grocer's cosy joint venture deal with Morrison". FastFT also mentioned the possibility of a takeover, given that the company now has two high-profile partners in Morrison and Waitrose. Meanwhile, market chatter continues to suggest that recent gains simply reflect traders covering short positions. Since the start of 2013, the stock has surged by over 270%.Lighting, signalling and electronics group Dialight dropped sharply after saying that first-half profits would be adversely affected by weaker sales in the Signal segment and additional costs from the planned extra sales in the Lighting segment. Nevertheless, the company reassured that full-year results would be broadly in line with forecasts.Hedge-fund manager Man Group meanwhile continued to suffer from recent market volatility, with investors nervous before a weekly update on its flagship AHL fund this evening, according to market reports. The fund is thought to be strongly correlated to Japan's Nikkei index, which has seen some dramatic falls over recent weeks.AG Barr and Britvic were both in the red despite the Competition Commission provisionally clearing their proposed merger, as the Chairman of Britvic said that the company is now in a "different place" to last summer when they first agreed to a tie-up. He hinted that the terms may have to be renegotiated once the watchdog presents its final report next month. FTSE 250 - RisersOcado Group (OCDO) 323.60p +3.72%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 102.00p +3.03%Bovis Homes Group (BVS) 776.50p +1.70%Workspace Group (WKP) 389.20p +1.62%Keller Group (KLR) 920.50p +1.60%Cranswick (CWK) 1,125.00p +1.26%Ted Baker (TED) 1,447.00p +1.19%Alent (ALNT) 359.10p +1.15%Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 1,573.00p +0.83%BH Macro Ltd. USD Shares (BHMU) 21.47 +0.80%FTSE 250 - FallersDialight (DIA) 1,165.00p -12.93%Man Group (EMG) 84.60p -8.89%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,458.00p -6.96%Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 426.90p -5.97%Hays (HAS) 83.20p -5.88%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 215.90p -5.31%Ferrexpo (FXPO) 142.80p -5.12%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 318.70p -4.78%Home Retail Group (HOME) 143.80p -4.58%Regus (RGU) 155.50p -4.54%