London’s FTSE 250 was down 2.6% at 20,295.47 after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Ferrexpo tumbled after it said it was “closely monitoring” developments in the Ukraine. The exporter of high grade iron ore pellets said it was “continuing to assess developments locally and will prioritise the safety of its workforce”.
The company said its mining and processing facilities – located adjacent to the city of Horishni Plavni, in central Ukraine, where the situation remains stable – are currently in operation. However, the government of Ukraine has now suspended rail transportation.
Petropavlovsk – which operates mines in Russia – also slid.
Car dealership Inchcape was weaker despite posting a rise in full-year profit amid strong demand, and announcing a £100m share buyback programme.
Spectris retreated despite saying it swung to a full-year pre-tax profit as it lifted its dividend and said it was entering 2022 with a record order book.
Travel shares were also under the cosh amid worries about the impact of the Ukraine crisis, with Wizz, easyJet and Carnival all down. Budget airline Wizz said earlier that it had halted flights to and from Ukraine.
Bucking the trend, precious metals miners Hochschild, Centamin and Endeavour all pushed up as gold prices rose above $1,940 an ounce as investors piled into safe haven assets.
FTSE 250 – Risers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 114.90p 12.98%
Energean (ENOG) 1,016.00p 5.83%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 2,255.00p 4.88%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 369.80p 4.82%
Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 761.20p 4.16%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 99.64p 3.32%
Capricorn Energy (CNE) 213.80p 3.09%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,945.00p 2.91%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 139.80p 1.60%
Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) 142.60p 1.57%
FTSE 250 – Fallers
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 161.20p -34.95%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 10.40p -24.09%
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 3,169.00p -13.04%
Inchcape (INCH) 757.00p -9.01%
TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 1,232.00p -9.01%
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 912.20p -9.01%
easyJet (EZJ) 592.20p -8.38%
Carnival (CCL) 1,304.60p -8.01%
Provident Financial (PFG) 287.00p -7.66%
Spectris (SXS) 3,014.00p -7.03%
