Hopes of an upbeat trading update from Rightmove lifted the online property group, as one broker stuck a 440p target on the stock.

Rightmove shares topped the mid-cap risers, adding 29p to 400p, after KBC Peel Hunt, the City broker, said that the group was well placed to take advantage of the shift in property advertising to the internet.

Analysts said that subscriptions from existing members, such as estate agencies that use Rightmove to advertise properties, would alone be worth 438p a share by early 2008. Rightmove is also thought to be in a position to force through price rises of as much as 20 per cent this year and the next.

On Mondav the group, which in November embarked on what was considered to be a successful investor roadshow in the United States, will issue a new update to investors.

The FTSE 250 closed down 59.9 points at 11,186. The midcap oil stocks continued to drag on performance, as oil prices weakened further. JKX Oil & Gas was down 17½p to 270½p. Venture Production fell 64p to 789½p and Tullow Oil was 17¾p lower at 369p. EasyJet, a potential beneficiary of lower oil prices, rose 16p to 652p.

Inmarsat was in demand, gaining 9¾p to 385p, after Merrill Lynch said that the introduction of in-flight telephone equipment on Ryanair and Emirates aircraft could deliver extra revenues of $100 million a year for the group. Analysts raised their rating on the group from “neutral” to “buy”, and gave a 455p target price.

Ark Therapeutics picked up 3½p to 106p after an independent data and safety monitoring board said that it had no concerns about Cerepro, Ark’s investigational drug in the treatment of brain cancer. European regulators are expected to complete their review by the end of March.

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