FTSE 250 movers: Mining companies hit by pessimistic analysis from Credit Suisse

Soco International, Afren and EnQuest all rose on Monday after a slight rebound early on in crude futures. That came after Libya declared “force majeure” at two key ports over the weekend, shutting down export capacity equivalent to 560,000 barrels per day. That seemed to give the energy sector a boost early in the week.

Thomas Cook Group also rose after receiving an average hold rating from 19 brokers last week but a sell rating from Goldman Sachs that dominated headlines.

Meanwhile, Ferrexpo fell significantly on Monday morning as Credit Suisse cut its rating on the stock from neutral to underperform. Credit Suisse said the firm is located “relatively high on the global cost curve”.

Mining companies in general found themselves on the fallers list, still struggling to recover from last week’s falling in commodities markets. Hochschild Mining, Kaz Minerals, Acacia Mining and Vedanta Resources were all lower. Vedanta was downgraded by analysts at Credit Suisse to a neutral rating in a research note distributed to investors on Monday.

Evraz was also declining. The largest steel-maker in Russia announced on Monday that it will delay the initial public offering of its North American arm due to the continuing oil price drop.

FTSE 250 - Risers
Soco International (SIA) 262.30p +5.55%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 119.80p +3.99%
EnQuest (ENQ) 35.06p +3.67%
Dignity (DTY) 1,829.00p +3.27%
Essentra (ESNT) 754.00p +2.72%
Just Retirement Group (JRG) 143.40p +2.43%
Afren (AFR) 35.21p +2.24%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 309.40p +2.15%
Betfair Group (BET) 1,493.00p +2.12%
BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 301.40p +2.07%

FTSE 250 - Fallers
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 50.65p -9.23%
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 83.00p -9.09%
Evraz (EVR) 122.00p -6.80%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 235.00p -5.92%
Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,853.00p -4.24%
RPS Group (RPS) 211.10p -4.22%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 241.00p -3.41%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 569.50p -2.98%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 70.90p -2.88%
COLT Group SA (COLT) 125.10p -2.49%