Bovis Homes shares rose as other housebuilders suffered on the back of negative comments from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

The shares gained 10p to 694p, after the housebuilder said it had bought Elite Homes for £26 million in cash. The buyer will also take on £46 million of net debt, taking the total cost of the deal to £72 million.

FTSE 250 energy stocks were on the up. Dana Petroleum was up 46p at £13.04, Cairn Energy was up 71p at £22.61, JKSX Oil & Gas was up 9.75p at 390.5p and Premier Oilwas up 27p to £11.89.

On the downside, SCi Entertainment fell 15p to 394p, as ABN Amro noted yesterday’s news from the French games maker Ubisoft that it will not bid for the UK company, saying it did not fit its “profitability criteria”. The broker’s note cast doubts on any forthcoming bids for SCi, which said it is in talks with a number of potential acquirers.

Rank Group led the FTSE 250 fallers, down 34p to 125p, as the group issued a profit warning. Traders yesterday said that Rank is a likely bid target.

As for small caps, Cyprotex rounded off a strong day’s trading with a 46.15 per cent rise, up 1.5p to 4.75p, as it said it has entered the final three months of its year on a positive note. The group, which specialises in technology and information, said it is currently contracted to work for six of the world’s top ten global pharmaceutical companies.

The group’s management sees the opportunity for modest cash generation to expand further during the final three months of 2007.

Inspicio, the London-based inspection and testing group, climbed 22p to 213p after saying it received approaches from interested parties. Another gainer was SMC Group, which climbed 1.75p to 16.25p, as it said it continues to trade in line with management’s expectations.

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