FTSE 250 movers: Retailers mostly higher as UK unemployment falls

16th Jul 2014 15:12

A number of retailers including Debenhams, N Brown, AO World and Home Retail were on the rise today as investors welcomed the latest UK economic data which showed a drop in unemployment. The UK jobless rate declined from 6.6% to 6.5% in the three months to May, the lowest since 2008, though wage growth still remains subdued.N Brown was given a boost by UBS which raised its rating for the retailer from 'neutral' to 'buy', saying that the business offers "online growth at a high street price".However, Pets at Home and WH Smith were bucking the trend.Luxembourg-based Colt Group, which provides telecoms, IT and data services, was a high riser today, jumping 5% as investors chose to build positions after the stock fell to its lowest level in over two months in recent sessions. First-half results from the company are due out at the end of the month.Transport firm FirstGroup was in demand despite being hit by a shareholder backlash at its annual general meeting as 25% of the votes cast by investors were against the board's remuneration report.Gaming group bwin.party was extending losses after it disappointed the market yesterday by saying that trading in the second quarter was "mixed" with revenues softer than expected. Analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to 'hold' today, slashing their target for the shares from 170p to just 110p.FTSE 250 - RisersCOLT Group SA (COLT) 139.00p +4.91%Debenhams (DEB) 64.45p +4.29%Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 425.80p +4.21%AO World (AO.) 240.30p +3.94%Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 201.40p +3.81%FirstGroup (FGP) 132.80p +3.59%Senior (SNR) 271.80p +3.58%Home Retail Group (HOME) 176.20p +3.46%Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC) 589.50p +3.42%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,239.00p +3.16%FTSE 250 - FallersPets at Home Group (PETS) 173.40p -2.58%Genus (GNS) 1,064.00p -2.56%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 84.00p -1.58%Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,317.00p -1.57%RPS Group (RPS) 267.60p -1.44%WH Smith (SMWH) 1,110.00p -1.07%Rank Group (RNK) 163.20p -0.97%Cineworld Group (CINE) 324.00p -0.95%Euromoney Institutional Investor (ERM) 1,062.00p -0.93%Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 185.50p -0.80%BC