MARKET REPORT

TRANSPORT operator

FirstGroup accelerated 4p to 128¼p after its consortium beat incumbent operator Stagecoach

Group, down 2p to 198p, to land the new South Western rail franchise, which will run for at least seven years from August.

British Airways owner IAG fell 16p to 533½p as dealers noted a downgrade by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, while buy support from Exane BNP Paribas with a 1050p price target boosted car dealer Inchcape 37½p to 842½p.

Pollster YouGov rose 2½p to 265p after half-year adjusted pre-tax profit rose 27 per cent to £6.3million, but Wood Group fell 3p to 751p despite securing a £40million contract with Premier Oil to deliver energy services to two North Sea platforms.

Retail marketing and promotion firm SpaceandPeople jumped 4½p to 22p despite an annual loss of just over £600,000 as it traded ahead of expectations in the first two months of 2017.

Video streaming marketfocused media company Falcon flew 3¼p higher to 17½p as it raised £4million through a placing of new shares at 25p.