3rd Apr 2019 10:45
LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Wednesday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------Taylor Wimpey, up 3.1%, Persimmon, up 3.1%, Barratt Developments, up 2.6%, Berkeley Group, up 2.2%. Shares in housebuilders were higher amid Brexit optimism. In the latest developments, a cross-party group of senior members of Parliament will attempt to force UK Prime Minister Theresa May to stop a no-deal Brexit by tabling legislation requiring the government to delay Britain's withdrawal beyond April 12. May said on Tuesday that she would seek an extension beyond next week to allow talks with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn aimed at ensuring the UK leaves the EU in an "orderly" manner. CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "The best performers are banks and housebuilders as investors look towards the prospect of a softer Brexit outcome, with Persimmon, RBS and Lloyds all leading among gainers." Lenders Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland were up 2.8% and 2.7% respectively. ----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Stagecoach Group, up 8.7%. The transport company said its full-year adjusted earnings per share expectations have increased following further "strong trading and positive progress" in its UK Rail division. At the time of its interim results in December, Stagecoach posted adjusted earnings per share of 12.9 pence. At that time, the company increased its adjusted EPS expectations to reflect the above-forecast rail earnings achieved in the first half of the year. For the 44 weeks to March 2, UK Rail revenue - excluding Virgin Trains East Coast - was up 1.4% on a like-for-like basis. The Virgin Rail Group posted a 6.7% rise in revenue over the same period. UK Bus operations, on a regional basis, saw like-for-like revenue up 3.4% in the 44-week period, driven by market share increase, while the London Bus unit grew 1.3%.----------Just Group, up 6.0%. JPMorgan raised the life insurer to Neutral from Underweight. ----------Ferrexpo, up 4.0%. The iron pellet producer was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight by JPMorgan.----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------Dechra Pharmaceuticals, down 1.9%. The veterinary products manufacturer said Chief Financial Officer Richard Cotton resigned immediately for personal reasons. The company said Cotton will remain available to the company for consultation until late June. Dechra said it has started the search process for a replacement and a further update on this will be made in due course. In the interim period, Paul Sandland, the company's EU finance director, will assume the role of acting CFO until a permanent successor to Cotton is appointed. Dechra also noted that trading across the company has continued to witness growth and is in line with management expectations.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------Lighthouse Group, up 23% at 32.40p. Wealth manager Quilter agreed a GBP46.2 million cash deal for the financial adviser. Quilter, which used to be part of Old Mutual as Old Mutual Wealth Management, is offering 33 pence per Lighthouse share. This is a 25% premium to the stock's 26.5p closing price in London on Tuesday, a 30% premium to its volume weighted average price in the three months to Tuesday, and a 26% premium to its average price in the six months to Tuesday. Lighthouse provides financial advice to both corporate and retail customers, with over 400 financial advisors in the company. Lighthouse's board has accepted the offer, Quilter added, and so far it has received irrevocable undertakings from shareholders, including directors, of 44% of Lighthouse's share capital. Quilter expects the takeover to complete during the second quarter of 2019. Quilter shares were up 0.5%.----------Chariot Oil & Gas, up 18%. The oil and gas company said its wholly-owned subsidiary was awarded a 75% interest and operatorship of the Lixus offshore licence in Morocco. Chariot said the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines, Morocco's national oil company, will hold the remaining 25% interest. The licence covers about 2,390 square kilometres, 30 kilometres north of Chariot's existing Moroccan acreage with water depths reaching 850 metres. The licence includes four exploration wells, including the Anchois gas discovery. The initial licence commitment, which Chariot is fully funded to cover, includes a technical programme of 3D seismic reprocessing and evaluation of potential further exploration.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------CMC Markets, down 5.5%. The contract for difference provider issued a profit warning due to new European regulations but is confident in its outlook for 2020. CMC expects its CFD and spread-betting revenue in the year to March 31 to be 37% lower than the year before, at about GBP110 million. The company expects to report net operating income of about GBP131 million. Separately, the company announced a series of changes to its senior management, which sees Chief Operating & Financial Offer Grant Foley leave CMC. Foley is expected to stay with the company for the next six months to "ensure a smooth transition". During that period, CMC said it will "run a rigorous process" to find a replacement.----------Jersey Oil & Gas, down 57%. The oil and gas firm said it is "disappointed" by the drilling results from the UK Continental Shelf region of the North Sea. Jersey Oil & Gas said a 20/05b-14 appraisal well, which forms a part of Verbier discovery, has been safely drilled ahead of schedule to a total depth of 3,784 metres. The AIM-listed company said the well did not encounter Upper Jurassic sands as anticipated, thus, Jersey Oil & Gas said its contingent resource volumetric estimations for the Verbier discovery are likely to be revised towards the lower end of the initial resource estimate of 25 million barrels of oil equivalent.----------Brave Bison, down 20%. The social video company said it promoted Non-Executive Director Kate Burns to be chief executive officer with immediate effect, replacing an incumbent in place for less than two year. Burns joined the social video company in the role of non-executive last July. She succeeds Claire Hungate, "who has left the company", Brave Bison said without providing a reason. It thanked Hungate for "her valuable contribution". Hungate was named CEO in June 2017, having worked at Warner Bros.---------