LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 edged 0.05% lower to 19,777.26 in afternoon trade on Thursday, with Metro Bank the leading loser.
The challenger bank's shares slumped following the release of disappointing first-half results after the close on Wednesday and news that founder Vernon Hill was standing down as chairman, raising further doubts about the already troubled bank.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets, said: "Metro Bank are the new kid on the block and its aim is to take on the established banks, but given the political upheaval in relation to Brexit, interest rates are likely to remain low, and that should make it harder for banks to make money from lending due to the flattening of the yield curve, and that is likely to hit Metro hard has it has a relatively small client base."

Royal Mail and Pennon were both weaker as their stock went ex-dividend, while Sports Direct's shares were lower ahead of the release of its full-year results on Friday.

Tullow Oil continued to fall the day after it revised down its 2019 full year production forecast to 89-93,000 bopd and Victrex followed suit as it said its third quarter revenues fell 14% after "some deterioration" in its automotive and electronics businesses.

Up at the other end of the index, aerospace and defence supplier Cobham surged after agreeing to be bought by US private equity firm Advent International for £4bn.

"Cobham has struggled over the past three years with sales and profits falling back, but there have been more positive signs in recent results," said Ian Forrest, analyst at The Share Centre.

"The move by Advent may attract some attention from the government given the defence implications, although the government is rather distracted with a number of other matters at present.

"However, the premium being paid by Advent in an all-cash offer is good news for investors."

Howden Joinery climbed as it said it had stockpiled £12m in additional inventory to prepare for a no-deal Brexit as interim pre-tax profits rose 13.5% to £68.8m, while Softcat rallied as it said it now expects full-year operating profit to be ahead of its previous expectations.

NewRiver REIT also rose as it reported "good progress" with its strategies to deliver underlying funds from operations growth, and to re-establish its dividend cover in the first quarter.

Budget airline Wizz Air flew higher as it lifted its full-year capacity growth rate and reported better-than-expected net profit for the three months to the end of June, while National Express rose after reporting a jump in first-half profit on Thursday, with revenue growth in all of its main divisions and current trading ahead of expectations.

Finally, shares in Morgan Advanced Materials edged higher as it reported a rise in half-year profit and revenue on Thursday as it reaffirmed expectations for the full year.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,777.26 -0.05%


FTSE 250 - Risers

Cobham (COB) 166.15p 35.36%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 545.00p 7.62%
Softcat (SCT) 963.50p 4.79%
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) 648.00p 3.51%
NewRiver REIT (NRR) 176.80p 3.51%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,723.00p 3.27%
National Express Group (NEX) 438.20p 3.20%
Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 119.40p 2.75%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 168.00p 2.44%
Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM) 264.00p 2.40%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Metro Bank (MTRO) 397.80p -16.50%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 647.00p -15.62%
Royal Mail (RMG) 208.30p -7.01%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 239.00p -6.13%
Investec (INVP) 486.80p -4.81%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 198.70p -4.15%
Pennon Group (PNN) 723.20p -3.68%
Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 1,462.00p -3.56%
William Hill (WMH) 156.90p -3.48%
Victrex plc (VCT) 2,002.00p -3.10%

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