Ocado surges on mounting speculation Earnings updates were behind some of the benchmark index's biggest individual moves. Engineering buyout group Melrose Industries gained 6.7 to 251.8p after reassuring investors it was "confident" of meeting expectations for the year. Harry Philips, analyst at Oriel Securities, said the statement presented an attractive buying opportunity because the shares had underperformed in the last month. A well-received update lifted retailer Next 195p to £46.01, while a decline in operating profit during the first-quarter saw Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered fall 75p to £16.25. InterContintental Hotels" quarterly results were described as "lacklustre" by Numis analyst Wyn Ellis, who cut his recommendation to "hold" from add," and the shares ended the session down 49p at £19.12. J Sainsbury slipped 15½ to 381p despite reporting a 6pc increase in full-year profits. Traders noted the shares had had a strong run into the earnings announcement, while Panmure Gordon analyst Philip Dorgan lowered his stock rating to "hold" from "buy," arguing the supermarket group's guidance of 1pc to 1.5pc like-for-like sales growth next year was "slightly disappointing." Evraz, up 5.2 at 171.4p, was helped by an upgrade to "equal weight" from "underweight" by analysts at Barclays. Experts at the bank said the Russian steel companies had come under pressure in recent months "without any meaningful fundamental reason" and argued that "market fears are overdone." Still, they cautioned that Evraz shares could be weighed down by the threat of relegation from the FTSE 100 at next month's quarterly index review. If demoted, funds that track the benchmark index would be forced to sell the shares. ITV rose 4.1 to 128.1p after John Whittingdale, chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee, suggested the public-service obligations on the broadcaster could be relaxed. Liberum Capital analyst Ian Whittaker said such a move would allow ITV to show "more commercially-orientated programming," while a trader speculated it could make the company more attractive to a potential suitor. Indeed, a revival of stale bid rumours accompanied blue-chip drugmaker Shire 44p higher to £19.06, the first time the shares have finished in positive territory since the pharmaceutical giant disappointed the market by lowering it full-year sales guidance last Thursday. One dealer said the stock, which on Tuesday touched its cheapest price since early December, was more likely to be bouncing off its lows and that the takeover chatter was probably spurious. Looking less healthy was Man Group, with new figures, showing that the company's flagship computer-driven AHL fund slipped 0.1pc last week, dragging shares in the hedge fund manager 1.7 lower to 123.8p on the FTSE 250. Bike retailer Halfords benefited from an upgrade to "overweight" from "underweight" at JPMorgan and accelerated 16.7 to 385.7p, ahead of its full-year results and strategy update in a fortnight. One way the company may look to grow market share is by expanding its product range, the broker's experts said. Shares in commercial property group Workspace built a gain of 9.3 to 390p after the company won planning permission for its Tower Bridge business complex in London from Southwark Council. Analysts at Oriel Securities described the scheme as one of Workspace's "key redevelopment projects." Also among the mid-cap risers was private equity company 3i, which gained ground following the announcement it was selling IT group Civica to OMERS Private Equity of Canada. The buyout group will receive £228m in cash, just over double its initial £109m investment. Shares in 3i, which have recently drawn the attention activist investor Edward Bramson, put on 2.9 to 340.9p. Lower down the scale, technology WANdisco rose 37½ to 977½p - a fresh record - on news Paul Harrison, finance chief of blue-chip Sage, was joining as chief financial officer. Shares in the Aim-listed small-capper were floated at 180p apiece last June and are now worth more than five times the initial public offering price. Sage itself shrugged off the departure and advanced 7.7 to 347p after posting a 6pc increase in first-half adjusted pre-tax profits. Finally, the announcement that coach-maker Optare had secured an order for 50 buses, as part of a new strategic partnership with rental group Dawsonrentals, drove shares in the small-capper 0.025 higher to 0.375p, a 7.1pc gain.