Minutes before lunchtime on Friday, the FTSE 250 is up by 0.38% to 22,556.40, continuing its strong form since the beginning of the pandemic.
“The FTSE 250 is on a roll, having risen by 26% in value over the past six months. This has silenced critics who said there is little to like about the UK stock market,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“Value-style stocks offering jam today rather than jam tomorrow have been in demand, as well as lots of companies well placed to benefit from the reopening of the economy thanks to the rollout of the Covid vaccines,” Mould added.
Friday’s session was dominated by industrials, financials and utilities, helping to push the FTSE 250 up another 0.3% to 22,539. Key movers included Mitie, whose shares have more than doubled in price in the past six months.
“Mitie was previously seen as a pandemic loser. Many people thought the working from home trend could result in reduced commercial property demand, affecting one of its key services in cleaning offices. Investors now appear to be taking the view that this threat has been overplayed,” said Mould.
FTSE 250 Top Movers
Petropavlosk (3.87%), WH Smith (3.5%) and Syncona (3.11%) are the top risers on the index heading into lunchtime on Friday.
At the other end, TI Fluid Systems (-5.68%), Kainos Group (-3.24%) and AO World (-2.69%), have seen the biggest falls in the value of their shares.
