After first quarter results came in ahead of expectations, recruitment firm Hays jumped early on and remained a high riser through the session. The company said that markets were overall stable through the first quarter though group net fees fell by one per cent year-on-year.

Seymour Pierce upgraded its rating for the stock, saying, "this is an encouraging update from Hays. Guidance is for a similar outturn in 2Q12. It is still early days so we leave our FY13 (year end June) forecasts unchanged, expecting adjusted pre-tax profit of £117.9m, down 4% year on year."

Home Retail was on the rise following positive comments from JP Morgan Cazenove, saying it should be "beneficiary from competitors exiting the market place over Christmas".

Meanwhile, Greene King was heading in the opposite direction after Deutsche Bank downgraded its rating on the group from overweight to equal weight.


FTSE 250 - Risers
Hays (HAS) 80.20p +6.65%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 98.30p +4.24%
Bumi (BUMI) 170.80p +3.77%
Homeserve (HSV) 226.40p +3.28%
Essar Energy (ESSR) 125.90p +2.36%
IP Group (IPO) 122.20p +2.35%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 440.80p +2.30%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 397.40p +2.19%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 257.20p +2.19%
Man Group (EMG) 89.90p +1.99%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Greene King (GNK) 599.00p -4.08%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 1,390.00p -2.87%
Telecity Group (TCY) 931.50p -2.66%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 599.00p -2.28%
Dialight (DIA) 1,193.00p -2.21%
Atkins (WS) (ATK) 686.00p -2.07%
Invensys (ISYS) 232.40p -2.06%
Senior (SNR) 200.90p -2.00%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 108.50p -1.90%
SDL (SDL) 644.50p -1.83%

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Related share prices
Hays (HAS) share price
Greene King (GNK) share price
Home Retail Group (HOME) share price