LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - London's second-tier was 0.40% lower at 20,128.59 in afternoon trade on Tuesday, with Vivo Energy leading the index lower.

Royal Mail followed close behind after a downgrade to 'underweight' at JPMorgan, while the postal service stated that it will meet with union members without preconditions if employees refrain from conducting strike action over the busy festive period.

Energy services company Hunting gushed lower as it warned that full-year core profit would be at the lower end of market expectations "given current trading momentum".

Analysts from RBC Capital Markets said: "Despite ongoing E&P capex headwinds, we continue to see Hunting as competitively positioned vs peers, as the firm stands out as a one-stop-shop, and its perforation portfolio offers safety, reliability and cost savings to customers.

"Hunting's strong balance sheet could also prove advantageous if inorganic opportunities arise at depressed valuations due to negative industry news flow."

Up at the other end of the index, online contracts-for-difference trading provider Plus500 rallied after it reported a 10% jump in third-quarter revenue as customer numbers grew.

Analysts from Liberum said the results were ahead of their expectations and confirmed the business was on course to meet full year targets, though they took a dimmer view of 2020 as they warned that new Australian regulations will take 10% off revenue in 2020.

Fellow online investment platform provider AJ Bell was also higher on the news of its contemporary's strong quarter.

Finally, Aston Martin Lagonda recovered some ground, having dropped in the previous session after a downgrade to 'underperform' at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which said it sees a "significant increase in financial risk".

Market Movers

FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,128.59 -0.40%


FTSE 250 - Risers

Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) 837.00p 6.14%
Future (FUTR) 1,324.00p 3.76%
Riverstone Energy Limited (RSE) 473.50p 2.93%
Dunelm Group (DNLM) 848.00p 2.23%
Card Factory (CARD) 175.20p 2.16%
AJ Bell (AJB) 380.00p 2.15%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 747.00p 2.05%
Coats Group (COA) 74.60p 1.91%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 321.00p 1.90%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 441.50p 1.56%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Vivo Energy (VVO) 123.20p -4.94%
Royal Mail (RMG) 213.45p -3.94%
Capita (CPI) 160.00p -3.21%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 194.50p -2.94%
Energean Oil & Gas (ENOG) 904.00p -2.80%
Drax Group (DRX) 299.40p -2.73%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 339.00p -2.73%
Hunting (HTG) 409.00p -2.62%
Greggs (GRG) 1,767.00p -2.59%
Homeserve (HSV) 1,132.00p -2.50%

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