LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 250 was 0.51% lower at 19,696.86 in afternoon trade on Friday, with shares of Victrex leading the index lower.
Shares in the polymer supplier slipped after being downgraded from 'add' to 'hold' by analysts at Peel Hunt, who argued that their profit forecasts may be cut due to a weaker macroeconomic backdrop.

"There is no evidence of a sustained recovery in automotive volumes and the outlook for electronics and general industrial activity in the second half has deteriorated. For now, the near-term risks outweigh the long-term growth potential," said the analysts.

Spectris shares were also under the cosh after Bank of America Merrill Lynch double-downgraded its recommendation to 'underperform' over fears that end market deceleration could hamper the precision instrumentation supplier in the second half of the year.

Ferrexpo and Kaz Minerals dropped lower as iron and copper miners were hit by falling prices on news that China's top mills have formed a group to investigate whether "non-market factors" were behind a surge in prices.

Building materials supplier SIG suffered heavy losses as it said weak construction markets in the UK and Ireland led to a 3.8% fall in first half like-for-like sales.

At the other end of the index, Funding Circle racked up healthy gains, having slumped earlier in the week after the lender halved its forecast for 2019 revenue growth.

Wood Group climbed on the back of an upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold' at Berenberg, where analysts also upped their target price for the stock from 560p to 590p.

"We believe that the group's sharp underperformance this year has been driven by fears about cash generation, which have largely resulted from the Amec Foster Wheeler acquisition. As cost synergies are delivered, and legacy projects and exceptional integration costs roll off, we expect steady top-line growth underpinned by strong FCF, leaving the stock attractively valued," said analysts.

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 19,696.86 -0.51%


FTSE 250 - Risers

Funding Circle Holdings (FCH) 138.32p 6.56%
Intu Properties (INTU) 78.78p 3.17%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 488.40p 3.08%
Pantheon International (PIN) 2,250.00p 2.74%
Ted Baker (TED) 835.00p 2.39%
IP Group (IPO) 75.10p 2.32%
Bank of Georgia Group (BGEO) 1,507.00p 2.24%
Energean Oil & Gas (ENOG) 973.00p 1.88%
Drax Group (DRX) 273.40p 1.64%
Vivo Energy (VVO) 125.00p 1.63%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Victrex plc (VCT) 2,036.00p -6.00%
Spectris (SXS) 2,720.50p -5.77%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 257.20p -5.20%
Renishaw (RSW) 4,100.00p -4.21%
SIG (SHI) 126.90p -4.15%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 558.80p -3.09%
Polypipe Group (PLP) 439.20p -2.79%
Homeserve (HSV) 1,154.00p -2.78%
Rotork (ROR) 308.60p -2.74%
Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 1,382.00p -2.54%

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