FTSE 250 movers: Gold miners lead gains, De La Rue under pressure

20th Dec 2013 14:30

African Barrick Gold and Centamin found a bid as the price of gold on international commodities markets stabilised after the sharp falls seen in the wake of the US Federal Reserve's surprise decision on Wednesday to initiate the tapering of its quantitative asset purchases. Shares of banknote printer DeLaRue were falling for a second day following the selection by the Bank of England of Innovia Security as the polymer supplier for its new plastic banknotes. That comes even as its rival's next-generation polymer will not be introduced for 10 pound notes until 2017, so De La Rue will not see the full potential 'hit' from the loss of all the banknote paper involved for some time, analysts at Numis wrote. Even so, "It is surely only a matter of time before larger denominations follow suit," the broker added. Digital rights firm Perform Group recent bounce seemed to be petering out and on Friday it was leading fallers on the FTSE 250. Towards the end of last week it warned that its 2013 full-year revenue will be below previous expectations, pushing earnings 'significantly' below forecasts. The company also offered weaker than expected guidance for next year, sending its stock plunging. Lancashire Holdings was edging higher despite paying out a special dividend. AB